How to Train Your Roman
by fanwarrior4
Summary: Hiccup is Chief, Astrid is Headmistress of the Berk Dragon Training Academy, and the map of the world has grown exponential since the training of all their new pupil. But with riders on the backs of rare dragons, they have attracted the attention of a few unkind visitors who are searching for the ultimate power, The Dragon Stone.
1. This is the Intro

**A/N: I'm a stickler for canon so I'm going to keep the relationships and facts established by the movies intact.**

* * *

The evening sun began to fade over the horizon of the ocean, the sight from the village was breathtaking. Hiccup took a deep breath and looked down on Eret's Tracker-class lesson from the hill over-looking the academy.

_This is Berk. The home of one of the greatest creations in viking history: The Dragon Training Academy. Created by yours truly, managed by my lovely bride-to-be, and staffed by the greatest riders in Berk. This marvel of the modern world has taught the best riders throughout the Barbaric archipelago. These legends have befriended and rode some of the rarest dragon species on the planet._ A Skrill shot overhead with its rider on their way back to Berserker Island. _Together with our prized pupils, we have defeated 6 malevolent _Red Deaths_ and surprisingly found a few kind _"Green Deaths," _crafting an era of peace between vikings and dragons. But while we hunted these evil beasts, we left ourselves blind to those who hunted us._

* * *

Eyjolf the Swift shot through the attacker's ranks on the back of his special girl, a Daylighter he named Dawnbringer. Her rare ability of echo-location made it easy to avoid oncoming obstacles and attacks and close in on one of the trebuchets that was firing nets at them A quick blast from one of Dawnbringer's fire balls destroyed the machine and disarmed the soldiers surrounding it. The two exited the crowd of men and soared for the nearest mountain they could see, hoping to lose the force. The made a tight turn around to the cliff side. Halfway past the cliff, Dawnbringer stopped and began to look around frantically. "Woah girl," Eyjolf said, "What's wrong? Do you smell something?" He then felt a cold chill from behind him and saw a shadow envelop him as the dragon descended. "That would probably be me." the rider said.

The new dragon was no larger than a Nightmare, yet the rider stood on its long neck like it was a Stormcutter. The dragon had Nadder-like hind legs and Nightmare-like front wing-legs. Its tail had four claw-like protrusions jutting back that were sharp as knives, and the claws were no blunter. It flapped downward with the power of gale-force wind, creating huge splashes of mist in the water. But the most terrifying thing about it were the eyes. Six green orbs with black slits, all focused on Eyjolf. He gulped and then looked at the rider. He wore a suit of black armor, the exact shade as the dragons scales, and purple robe detailing underneath. His face was barely visible under his elaborately decorated helmet, which had gold leaf ring spanning from ear-to-ear behind his head, a leaf Eyjolf was unfamiliar with. He carried a staff with him, and sheathed at his side was a sword.

"That's a nice dragon you have there!" Eyjolf yelled at the man. "You as well! A Daylighter, very rare, very strong!" The man yelled back. "Yah, her name is Dawnbringer!" Eyjolf responded. The man nodded. "A fitting name!" He said. "And yours?!" Eyjolf asked. "Oh he has no name, we merely call him by his species," the man paused, "The Black Death." The dragon attacked before Eyjolf had a chance to react.

The front claws pinned down Dawnbringer and its tail loomed over her neck, Dissuading any resistance. Eyjolf sat injured with his back on the cliff. The man jumped off of his dragon's back and walked over to the injured Eyjolf, kneeling down next to him. "Magnificent isn't he? One of the three Alpha species that are average-sized. I believe by your Viking writings he would be considered a sharp-class dragon, yes?" The man stood up and walked over to examine his new prize. "But yours, yours is a Tracker-class dragon. One of the very few that can use echo-location. Yes, she will do nicely in my collection." He looked her over with hunger eyes. "No, you can't have her." Eyjolf said as he tried to get up. However, he lacked the strength and quickly fell to the ground. When he did, his Dragon Academy journal fell out of his bag, the new symbol staring out from the top. The man began to take staggered breaths and lifted the book, staring into the eyes of Toothless, the Night Fury.

The man quickly ran up to Eyjolf and picked up by the shirt. "Where is it?!" He yelled. "Where is what?" Eyjolf responded, completely confused about the man's question. "This!" The man pointed at the symbol. "The Blue Death! Where is it?!" He shook Eyjolf as he asked the question, causing him serious pain. "Man, I have no idea what you're talking about, that's called a Night Fury." He responded. The man hissed in irritation. "Fine! Where is the 'Night Fury'?" He asked. "Where you'll never find him." Eyjolf responded, laughing. The man threw him on the ground as his army began to surround the two.

A single soldier ran up to him from the crowd, bowed, and then leaned into the man's ear. "Mi'lord, what would you have us do?" He asked. The man stared at Eyjolf, his eyes filled with anger. "Tie up the dragon, and find out where this came from." He responded, forcefully shoving the journal into the soldier's chest. He turned away from Eyjolf and walked over to his dragon, the soldier followed him. "And the rider?" He asked. The man turned to look at Eyjolf again. "Leave him, his wounds will do away with him soon enough." He began to climb up onto his dragon when another soldier walked up to him. "Do you really think we found it, sir?" He asked.

_Upon the Northern wind it waits,_

_ past Jupiter's Realm through Odin's Gate,_

_Its power shines with blue of old,_

_The leader of the dragons cold,_

_The last of its kind it walks alone, _

_the keeper of the Dragonstone._

The second prophecy went through the man's mind and he smiled. "Yes, we have." His smile faded when he remembered the technicality. "But I need its exact location. Find it." The man dropped to one knee. "Yes, lord Romulus." Romulus stepped onto the Black Death's neck and tapped it. With a mighty roar, the beast leapt into the air and soared off into the sky. Eyjolf reached up towards his precious girl as the legion took her away, feeling a cold hand enveloping him from behind.


	2. Berk

Hiccup and Astrid layed down on the grassy hill, watching he sunset. Hiccup grabbed a grape from the bowl that sat between them and placed it in her mouth. She smiled, and ate the precious gift he had given her. Astrid sat up and grabbed a grape. "Now its your turn," she said. Hiccup graciously accepted the small, green fruit, smiling as he chewed. When he finished, he leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. Astrid sighed happily and layed her head on the ground. Hiccup followed suit. For a few minutes they just layed there, enjoying the view, every once in a while sharing the grapes and some kisses. "I love Sundays," Astrid said. "Me too," Hiccup responded. Sunday was their date night, the only legitament time they had alone. Everyone saw it as a relaxing, pleasant day.

Everyone, except for Snotlout. As the current successor of the mantle of chief, it was his duty to pick up Hiccup's slack on Sunday afternoon. Normally, it wouldn't have been that bad of a job. However, Berk had the twins. It wasn't that they made the job of chief that hard, most of their destructive tendencies were let off in the dragon races, it was that they made it hard for Snotlout. Thanks to the twins, Sunday became "Let off all the jobs that could wait" day. So all the tiny leaks in the roofs, that Hiccup could've fixed in a minute if they were reported immediately, were now pretty big leaks that'll take Snotlout half-an-hour to fix, all over the village. But he couldn't complain too much, it did give him a chance to flex for the ladies.

It was just like every other Sunday. "Hiccup!" Hiccup cringed, so much for a relaxing date with his love. "Hiccup!" Fishlegs ran up the hill the best he could while Hiccup stood to face him, a displeased look on his face. Fishlegs got to his position and started panting. "What is it Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked. "Eyjolf...he's...he's" Fishlegs gasped, unable to get the words out. Astrid stood up immediately, Eyjolf had been one of the academies best students. "What about him Fishlegs?" She asked. Fishlegs took a deep breath and pointed towards the docks, s morbid expression on hid face. "Come see for yourself."

A large group gathered around the event, but the left a decent amount of distance for the crying couple. The chieftain of the Hog Wrangler Clan layed his hand comfortingly on his brother's shoulder. Hiccup and Astrid pushed through the crowd just as the veil was placed over the face of his father's pride and joy. A team of six, mainly academy students, hoisted the wood board that the alumni lay up on their shoulders and began to walk to the already prepared ship, a large procession containing both Hooligans and Wranglers following behind. Eret, however, stood frozen, still looking where the pale face of his first and favorite student was covered, never for him to see again.

The procession stopped along the docks surrounding his father's favorite fishing boat and the team of six lowered the board onto the pile of firewood and stepped of the boat. With one last farewell, his mother pushed the boat off, she was too decimated to fire an arrow today. The academy students stood on the end of the docks in perfect lines, presenting the new academy salute as the boat passed. When it was deemed far enough away, the Chieftain handed the bow to his red-eyed brother. The man pulled out the special arrow his son had given him. The head crafted from the rarest and hardest material he could find, Daylighter scales. The man dipped the arrow into the fuel, lit it alight, and fired it at Eyjolf's ship. A direct hit lit the firewood aflame, and then, forty flaming arrows rose from the ranks of the academy students and were let loose upon the ship, lighting every inch aflame.

Hiccup was dumb-founded. This student had single-handedly defeated a Red Death, yet something had managed to end him. He looked to Fishlegs. "What happened?" He asked. "He died from internal bleeding due to severe injuries caused by a collision with a cliff side." Fishlegs responded. Hiccup looked at the flaming ship and then back to Fishlegs. "Where's Dawnbringer?" He asked. "I don't know, I only found Eyjolf's body. Maybe she hit the cliff way too hard or something" Fishlegs responded, trying to hide the fear in his voice. Hiccup looked at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, Daylighters _can't _hit cliffs." A sudden realization hit Hiccup hard in the chest, and he ran throughout the docks, ordering search parties to be sent out immediately to check on the rest of the alumni.

* * *

He was still worried the next day, but Hiccup had a duty to his clan and he performed his daily rounds. It was nothing unusual, a few damaged homes, a couple of property disputes, and a handful of saddles. However, the happenings at the Dragon Academy were not per the norm. Eret had just recieved a new class from Fishlegs, as they rotated the students between the different dragon class experts, and was going through a brief summary of the Tracker class dragons. Hiccup watched as he easily went through the Nadder and Rumblehorn, for which Skullcrusher let out a loud roar. Then he started on the Daylighter. "The Daylighter is..." Hiccup looked at him, concerned. "The...the Daylighter..."

Astrid had also noticed Eret's stuttering and walked over to him. A few of the immature students whistled and howled, but she lifted her left hand to shut them up. Hiccup saw his moment to reveal himself and coughed, turning the boys' faces bright red when they realized where the gift came from. "Is everything alright, Eret?" Astrid asked him. "What? Oh, everything is fine." He answered in a completely unconvincing fashion. "Eret, go home, get some rest, you can return when your mind is settled." She ordered. Eret sighed. "Yes Headmistress." He responded and gestured to Skullcrusher. Hiccup put a comforting hand on Eret's shoulder as he passed.

When an Academy student wanted special help or lessons, they could ask to live with a professor. The 16-year-old honor student asked professor Eret if he could stay with him. Eret reluctantly agreed, worried that he couldn't properly care for a teenager. Since the Hog Wranglers lived the farthest from Berk than any other clan, Eyjolf hardly got to see his father, making it Eret's job to fill that void. And when his father couldn't make his graduation a year later, Eret had been the one to take his place. Hiccup didn't know how it felt to lose a son, but he knew how it felt to lose a father-son relationship, and he watched the downcast man walk home, tears barely visible, but still present.

Astrid took over as Eret's sub, and blew a kiss to her man as he turned to leave. He smiled and sent one back. The wolves in the back just shrank down in their seats. Hiccup couldn't wait to have them for Strike class.

* * *

The Lugchugger slammed its three tails into three of the trebuchets that assaulted them, and roared from its heavily armored skull. The heavily-armored rider let out a similar roar as he raised his bow in the air and notched an arrow. "Excellent shot Stonegrinder, now let me show you one of mine." He said and let loose an arrow, taking out a soldier on the ground.

The first arrow hit Boris Bonehammer in his knee. He winced a little and shot his own arrow at the enemy archer between the eyes. Stonegrinder made a concerned growl. "I'm fine boy, just keep smashing." He responded, and the dragon charged a large group of soldiers, flattening most of them with his three bludger-like tails. The only known dragon in the Boulder class with multiple tails. He let out a few fire blasts at the enemy, catching them alight and making them scurry for water

The second arrow hit Boris in the shoulder. This time he let out a small grunt and, unable to use his bow, chucked a hand axe at the attacker. Stonegrinder let out a slightly louder growl. "It's nothing we can't fix later." Boris responded. He pulled off his outer jacket, giving him access to the large amount of hatchets and daggers he had on his chest. For someone with the name of Bonehammer, he strangely preffered ranged weaponry. A barrage of weapons struck the attackers from the sky as he chucked his stores at them. A black shadow stealthily rose behind him.

Stonegrinder felt a little nudge from his back. A hand rested on his neck and a head rested next to his ear. "I'm sorry, boy." He heard as a large weight was removed from his back. Boris fell to the ground, three arrows protruding from his body. Stonegrinder attempted to dive after him, but the black dragon grabbed his neck with its claw-like tail. Romulus stared at his new prize with delight. "Lord Romulus!" He heard from he ground. "This one has a map!"

The Black Death slammed Stonegrinder on the ground and several soldiers surrounded him, chaining him up and muzzling him. Romulus walked over to the map and grabbed it from his subordinate, noticing the Blue Death symbol at the top of the parchment. Three islands were circled. "Berserk, Outcast Island, and Berk." He read, astonishing his troops. "You speak Nordic, sir?" His subordinate asked. "You know what they say, know thy enemy." Romulus answered as he walked towards his dragon, tossing the map behind him. "Send search parties to those islands, the Dragonstone is on one of them." He commanded, stepping on the Black Death's neck. "And what of the Blue Death?" His subordinate questioned. "Do we not need it?" Romulus looked forward form his perch on the Dragon. "The beast is merely a guard." He said, smiling under his helmet. "And guards are meant to die."


	3. Memories

"Julius, your baby's crying again!"

"Dont worry mom, I'll get it!"

"Thank you Remus."

A young, skinny teen looked down at the girl in her crib and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. She calmed down immediately. "You are a little pain in the butt." He said. The baby giggled and grabbed his nose with her little hand. He smiled. "Got my nose," he said. She giggled again.

* * *

The entire town was red with flames. The baby's mother was crying as Remus placed her into a basket. "Take her up north Captain, as far as you can go." He said to something behind her. A loud roar came from the town as a large fire blast erupted out of a building. Her mother kissed her on the forehead and placed a veil over the basket as he handed her to the ship's captain.

"Don't worry mom, Crownringer will protect her."

* * *

Several screams were heard followed by several splashes as the thunder roared above. The baby could feel the warmth of the dragon that curled around her, protecting her from the rain. His wing lifted slightly as an obsidian colored egg and a small pouch were placed in the crib by the captain. The man pointed to the dragon, "Protect those." The dragon closed its wings again.

Do you think the egg'll hatch?"

"Eventually, but it could take decades to find the right conditions."

"What about the other eggs?"

"Destroyed by this confounded storm...Look out!"

A whipping sound was followed by a quick shriek. The baby heard heavy footsteps and then heavy grunting. A few minutes later, a crack of thunder and a thud.

* * *

An old Stormcutter looked down in the crib and tilted his head, causing the baby to giggle. "Where are you, dragon?" A voice in the cave said. The Skycutter looked off to the side and then back at the baby. Despite being a dragon, the girl could see a saddened expression on its face. It licked her, causing her to laugh out loud and then slipped away. "What was that?" The voice said, followed by heavy footsteps. A large man with lots of facial hair stopped in front of the crib and looked down. He sheathed his axe and reached for the baby. "Hello there," he said, "And who might you be?" The baby began to cry. He started to rock her back and forth untill she eventually calmed down. "Don't worry, you're safe with me." He grabbed a small wooden pendant from her neck and read the crude Nordic characters. "Valka."

* * *

Valka woke from her strange dream. _Haven't had that one since I was 15, _she thought to herself, hoisting herself up from her bed, no, Stoick's bed, no, their bed. She walked over to the kitchen and made herself breakfast, exactly the same way Gobber had shown her. When she finished she walked back to the kitchen and began preparing Hiccup's breakfast. She made two servings knowing that his special someone would probably join them. When those were finished she began to prepare Hiccup's lunch. It gave her comfort to do this for him after being away for most of his life. She was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Coming!" She yelled and walked to the door. "Hello, Astrid," she said, welcoming the blonde. "Hello Mrs. Haddock, may I join you for breakfast?" Astrid responded. Valka laughed, "You always do," she said, opening the door wider for her guest. "Is Hiccup awake?" Astrid asked. "Not yet, you know how tiring his chiefing duties are." Valka answered.

Astrid sat down in her usual spot waiting for Hiccup to wake. Cloudjumper stirred from his sleep and looked over at the table. "Good morning, boy," Astrid said. He gave her a look she guess meant _not yet, _because he immediately fell back asleep. "There he is!" Valka exclaimed as Hiccup clambered down the steps. "Good morning, mother," he said grabbing the glass of yak milk she had poured him. He stepped behind Astrid and leaned down. "And good morning to you." He kissed her on the cheek and she immediately grabbed his head, pulling his lips into hers. Valka smiled as she brought the two plates of eggs to the table. "I don't see why you don't just move in already," she said. Astrid sighed. "Oh, you know my dad wants to keep me as long as he can, knowing he only has a week left." Hiccup coughed up some eggs and she laughed. "What, you didn't forget, did you?" She teased. "No," Hiccup said, offended. "Everything's ready, I just didn't realize how _close _it really was," he said, astonished. Valka sighed. "It'll be something pleasant to replace this morbid air."

Toothless decided that this was an excellent time to make his appearance. He waddled down the first few steps, tripped, and fell down the rest. The crashing sound startled Cloudjumper and he woke up again. Realizing he had an audience, Toothless quickly stood up, shaking off his drowsiness. Valka laughed. "Looks like someone else is also tired from his chiefing duties," she said, tossing him a fish, which he graciously accepted. Hiccup yawned and stretched out his arms. "Speaking of chiefing," he said. He stood up and walked back upstairs. He returned wearing new pants and was carrying a shirt, his armor, and his new chieftain's cloak. Astrid stood up and began to help him get dressed, slightly dissappointed she couldn't help with his pants, but slightly excited that she would be able to soon. She bit her lip at the thought. Hiccup noticed and smiled at her, giving her a seductive look. His mother laughed. "I'll guess all be going then," she said, holding a bucket of fish. She gestured to Cloudjumper who followed her outside for their morning ride.

When Hiccup was all dressed, Astrid took the opportunity of having him all to herself, quickly pulling him into a long kiss. Hiccup began to message her back when a knock was heard at the door. Hiccup groaned and Astrid whimpered as he walked to the door. He opened it to find Snotlout, his face downcast. Hiccup became worried. Snotlout removed his helmet revealing his brown hair. "Hiccup...we found another one." Hiccup ran out the door immediately. Astrid followed to the door and looked at Snotlout, his eyes telling her everything. She immediately ran after Hiccup to the docks.

Astrid held tightly to Hiccup as they stood on the docks and watched as another devastated mother pushed off a boat, another forty students saluted a fallen comrade, another red-eyed father launched a flaming arrow at his son's funeral barge, and another forty arrows lit the barge alight. Almost everyone had gone when Hiccup finally noticed Fishlegs. He stood where Eret had stood just days before, the same look of shock and heart-break. The couple walked over to him. "Fishlegs," Hiccup began, "Take the day off tomorrow, I'll teach your class for you." Fishlegs nodded as Meatlug pushed him home.

* * *

Grease-head Garrett raised his spear in the air and let out a Berserker cry, his dragon Blitzrunner shot off a bolt of lightning in response. No one can attack their home and get away with it. Their dragon-riding Berserker brothers let out similar cries, following the example of their general. Their Chieftain raised a sword in the air. "Attack!" He yelled.

Garrett slipped on his flight mask, required for Strike class riders, and smacked his ankles against his Skrill, telling him to prepare an electric charge. The two shot off towards the enemy dragon riders. Blitzrunner blasted some out of the sky with his lightning attack, while Garrett used his metal spear rig to blast others. He knocked two riders off their dragons into the crowd of Berserker soldiers, who quickly removed them from the equation. The enemies fired trebuchets from their large ships, hitting the island with barrage after barrage of fireballs, lighting the homes and woods on fire. Realizing the larger threat of the ships, Garrett put his Skrill into a dive towards them, blasting their ships to the bottom of the sea.

They destroyed several more ships when Garrett heard a large crack of thunder from above. A quick plan formed in his head, something he picked up from his mentor, Hiccup, and he steered Blitzrunner towards the thickest group of enemy ships he could find. They stopped in the middle and avoided the enemy arrows. A blue streak of electricity began to cross through the clouds above. "Now!" Garret yelled, and Blitzrunner shot up a few feet as Garrett lifted up his spear as high as he could, attracting the lightning. The blast created by such raw energy was enormous. It lit every ship on fire caught within 50 feet and fried the soldiers unlucky enough to be stationed on those ships. Garrett then returned to the sky, feeling his work on the water was done. He blasted down a few more enemy dragons, when a powerful roar was heard behind him.

The black dragon circled around Garrett and the rider lifted his lance. Garrett lifted his spear in response. The rider tapped the black dragon on the neck and it stopped 50 feet in front of the Skrill. The two stared off for over a minute until the black-armored rider raised his lance again. Garrett sat up tall and raised his spear at the man, unplugging it from Bltzrunner's rig. "A joist it is then." He whispered and let out his Berserker cry, the man letting out a similar cry at the same time. The dragons roared in response and charged at one another.

The Berserkers fell to their knees as the black dragon descended. Romulus held his lance in his right hand and the body in his left. "It would seem this island is useless!" He yelled at the defeated vikings. "I order my men to retreat. Go, repair your houses, see to your wounded, and do whatever it is you vikings do with your dead." He tossed Garrett onto the ground in front of them. "I expect no resistance when I return." With that remark he turned the Black Death to his ships, as his previously fighting soldiers ran out of the Berserker ranks towards the ships.

Romulus landed on the huge ship, designed to house more than 50 dragons, and stepped off the Black Death. Two frightened teenagers, roughly the size Hiccup had been at that age, passed by him holding a large basket full of fish. Romulus heard them run off as soon as they handed the dragon the basket. His First Officer walked up to him. "What do we do now?" He asked. Romulus watched as the Skrill was muzzled and pulled below deck. "We find the Blue Death. What is our next target?" He responded as his subordinate handed him the map. He read the Nordic ruins above the closest island. "Berk."


	4. Attack on Berk

"Chief Haddock!" The messenger cried out. "Chief Haddock!" Hiccup grabbed the Berserker as he ran by. "What, what is it?" He asked the young dragon rider. The boy started panting. "Attackers...dragons...Berserk...coming." He stammered in shock of the previous events. Hiccup looked at him and rubbed his shoulders. "Woah, woah, calm down, take a deep breath." Hiccup moved his hand up as he took a breath to help the boy visualize the action. "Now, tell me who attacked you," he said. The boy looked at him wide-eyed. "Romans." Hiccup managed to get the rest of the information out of the boy and walked down the island. "Prepare the catapults, arm all warriors, prepare dragons for combat!" He yelled. Toothless screeched out similar commands to the dragons. In less than an hour, the entire village was armed and stood together at the docks.

They waited for another few hours in tension, but there was no sign of any attackers. A few began to doubt the chief and were about to leave when a battle horn sounded. Hiccup climbed up a watch tower and pulled out a telescope. He focused it on the black dot in the distance. His heart sank when he realized that it wasn't a dot. It was a line. A few minutes later, the line was visible. Hiccup estimated that the amount of ships was three times the size of their's, not to mention the large command ship that towered over the rest. Hiccup raised his hand as the catapults were loaded. When the ships were in range he chopped his hand down quickly, signaling for them to fire. A volley of flaming hay bails, rocks, and barrels of Zippleback gas collided with the oncoming ships. A loud horn came from the fleet and Hiccup realized that hadn't been his best idea.

The entire front of the large ship opened up and scores of dragon riders emerged from it in a flurry. That was no battleship, it was a carrier. "Riders to the skies!" Hiccup yelled. A large group of Hooligans and senior academy students shot off towards the enemy dragons, weapons in hand. The catapults continued to barrage the Roman fleet with attack after attack, destroying and immobilizing a large number, but not as many as they should. Hiccup gasped as he realized the fleet was surrounding the island. He ran back to Astrid who was preparing to go up. "Astrid!" He yelled. "Hiccup, I'm going up, and you can't stop me," she said, pretty sure he that's what he was coming to talk about. He smiled. "I know I can't, but I can redirect you. I need you to fly to the other side of the island and destroy the ships that are trying to flank us," he said pointing in the direction he needed her to go. "Take a small group with you." "Okay." She responded. He turned to leave. "Hiccup," she grabbed his arm and turned him around, pulling him into a kiss. "Be safe," she said as they separated. "You too." He responded.

Hiccup looked down at the battle. The Roman ships had stopped advancing towards the docks, but were still moving to circle the island. Then he looked up at the dragon riders. Strangely, only what seemed to be two-thirds of the Roman dragons were fighting, but they were still winning. Hiccup whistled and Toothless bounded up to him. "Let's go bud," Hiccup said as he climbed onto the dragon and pulled out his sword. Toothless bound into the air, and everything changed.

An unusual horn sound came from every ship in the Roman fleet. The ships began to advance again, this time much faster. Several catapults were destroyed by Roman dragons immediately, and all the riders began to focus on the newly arrived duo. Hiccup and Toothless were barraged by rider after rider as they attacked constantly, trying to end the Night Fury as soon as possible. Luckily, this made it easy for the rest of the Berkians to pick them off and pretty soon, only a few were left. The Hooligans then turned their attention to the oncoming ships, taking over the slack of the lost catapults. And then a loud roar came from behind their lines.

Hiccup turned in time to watch a black streak fly over the line of ships that had surrounded the island and disappear within the carrier. Another horn sounded from the ships. The other third of the Roman's dragon forces returned to the carrier and the ships surrounding the island turned back towards the carrier in a quick retreat. Hiccup was dumb-founded. _They're giving up? After all that. _He shrugged, a win was a win. Toothless roared at the retreating Romans and the rest of the Berkian dragons followed suit.

* * *

Romulus stepped off of the Black Death as the dragon tossed its catch onto the deck. She stumbled from the force and fell onto the wood. Romulus kneeled down beside her and grabbed her chin, pulling her face up to see his. "I usually kill dragon riders," he said to her, "But you look stronger than most dragon riders." He threw her to the floor and pointed to her. "Tie her up, make sure she is not injured, I want her in top shape for the arena" He ordered. Several soldiers enacted his request, tying the knots so that they weren't to tight, but still inescapable. "Besides, if you survive, you will make an excellent bartering chip with your fiancé," he said as he smiled at her. Astrid struggled against her new bindings while Romulus' First Officer came down the steps from the third-story stables. Romulus looked at him. "You did as you were told?" He asked. First nodded. "The ship was placed exactly were you commanded." He answered. "Excellent." Romulus responded. "And now we let the plan unfold."


	5. Plans

Hiccup received several handshakes and pats on the back as the victory celebration went on. Vikings were dancing, laughing, and drinking as he watched from the chief's seat. However, he saw no sign of Astrid, which was incredibly unusual, as she usually sat next to him at events like this. Valka saw the worried look in her son's eyes and stepped up next to him. "Go," she said, "I'll look after the party. Besides..." She gestured to Gobber who was throwing himself around in a completely drunken dance whilst the rest of the vikings encouraged him to drink more, "I think their entertained enough." Hiccup looked at her with a thankful smile and sneaked out the door.

As Hiccup walked down the steps towards Toothless, Fishlegs and Snotlout came up from behind him. "Where do you think your goin' cous?" Snotlout asked. "Looking for your fiancée, hmmm?" Fishlegs elaborated. Hiccup rolled his eyes as he climbed onto Toothless. Snotlout and Fishlegs smiled. "Sweet, we'll escort you. That party wasn't worthy of me anyway," Snotlout said as he and Fishlegs ran to their dragons. Hiccup smiled, it was always nice to have some company. When the other two were saddled up they set off to the other side of the island.

* * *

They landed in a clearing not far from the coast and began the short walk towards the beach. "Astrid!" Hiccup called out, the other two following suit. "Astrid!" Hiccup felt a small crunch under his foot. He looked down to find a broken sheet of white ice in the grass. "Ice?" He questioned as he knelt to pick it up. "In the middle of summer?" He ground up the ice in-between his fingers to check if it was actually there. "Ummm...Hiccup?" Hiccup looked up at Fishlegs who was a little further in the woods. "There's some on these trees, too." Fishlegs said. Hiccup walked up and looked at where Fishlegs was pointing. Sure enough a large collection of trees had white streaks across their trunks. "Hiccup!"

Snotlout was shaking from head to toe when Hiccup ran up in front of him. "What is it, Snotlout?" He asked. His cousin just whimpered and pointed behind Hiccup. Hiccup turned to find a viking two inches from his face, perfectly frozen in an attack stance, axe still held in striking position. Fishlegs looked behind the frozen viking and gasped. Hiccup glanced where Fishlegs had just looked. What he saw astonished him. An entire group of frozen vikings and dragons were massed in a thick line that spanned all the way to the beach. Some of the vikings still sat on their dragons, and others were frozen mid-strike. However, the most frightening ones were the dragons who had froze mid-blast with iced areas where their fire had been. The three looked on in amazement and fear, Snotlout still shaking from the shock of it. They were only snapped out of their trance when Meatlug growled out-loud from the beach.

The frozen Nadder had its wings up in an attack stance, its mouth open like it was breathing fire, and a long funnel shaped protrusion of ice with a spiked end came out from where the fire should've been. Meatlug was circling it, sniffing and clawing at it, obviously trying in vain to free it from the icy prison. Hiccup recognized the dragon immediately. "Stormfly?" he said, "Then where's..." A glint of light near a washed up log caught his eye. He ran over to the log and slowly peered around it. "Hiccup," Fishlegs said as he reached for his friend's shoulder to comfort him. Hiccup ignored him and walked towards the axe. When he reached it, he fell onto his knees and tears began to flow from his eyes. He grabbed the weapon carefully. "This is Astrid's," he said, as he began to cry even more, "I made it for her." He pulled the axe close to his chest as the tears began to flow in waterfalls. Snotlout and Fishlegs just stood behind him, the sight of their devastated chief bringing tears to their eyes as well.

A large bang pulled the two out of their trance. "What was that?" Fishlegs asked. Hiccup began to wipe his eyes, realizing something else was happening. "It came from over there." Snotlout responded, pointing towards a wrecked ship they had previously overlooked. Hiccup slowly stood up, holding Astrid's axe tightly in his hand. Another loud bang came from the ship and they saw a few of the boards fall out of a hole in the wreckage. Snotlout pulled out his hammer and Fishlegs unsheathed his blade. Hiccup began to slowly advance towards the ship as he lifted the axe over his shoulder into a ready stance. Another bang came from the ship as a figure stumbled out the hole in the wreckage. He stood up tall and the boys had a very good look at him. Fishlegs' and Snotlout's eyes widened as they darted from Hiccup to the stranger.

The stranger had rich green eyes, a short chin, thin lips and a rounded nose. His hair was mostly silvered from age, but enough auburn remained to show that it was his natural color, and it fell in separated sections, a lot like Hiccup's. Hiccup observed that he must've been a slave or prisoner because he wore dirty, ragged clothes and two broken chains around his wrists. He also seemed to have scavenged some of the deceased crew, because he wore a Legionnaire's belt with a sheathed sword and a pair of leather boots. He stared at them intently for several seconds before collapsing onto the ground.

* * *

Astrid struggled against her bindings as the two guards shoved her onto the smaller ship. The carrier had opened up the front to let in a smaller ship which was now being loaded with prisoners, including Astrid. The guards pushed them around until they were in two straight lines from the bow of the ship to the stern. The prisoners stood at an uneasy attention, scared of where they were being herded. The guards examined the lines one last time and then stopped back onto the carrier's deck, signaling the smaller ship to exit. The ship captain complied, and the small ship pulled out of the wooden cave of the carrier. Astrid watched the dragon cages as they departed. Most of the dragons peacefully complied with their masters' rules, but others, such as the Skrill, were crazily slamming against the steel. Astrid felt sorry for those dragons, how horrible it must be to lose your best friend and then be ignored. However, she could only shed a few tears before the carrier closed its hatch, hiding them from her.

A few gasps came from the vikings standing around Astrid. She turned her head back to the front and let out a gasp of her own. The island was about the size of the entirety of Berk. The rock half mimicking the mountain that stood above her village, whilst the other half was roughly the size of the village, maybe even larger. But the real amazement was the fact that the village-sized half was completely built of wood. Huge purple banners with symbols of Romulus' crown draped over the side. Small protrusions covered the entire thing at four uniform heights, each with a Roman mounted-crossbow looking over the sea.

The small ship circled around the side of the island to the front. Astrid gasped again. The entire front of the island was built like a carrier except it was 100 times the size. The carriers looked like toy boats floating into a full-sized house, and small boats like the one Astrid rode looked like insects. Instead of dragon cages there were large openings in the walls, the ones on the surface of the water being much larger than the others. Long chains hung from the ceiling of the cavern. Astrid watched as a ship stopped underneath a small collection of chains near the wall. The crew pulled out long metal rods with hooks on the ends and grabbed the chains, pulling them towards the ship. They moved the ends of the chains next to specific points in the ship and Astrid realized that they were hooking the ship to the chains. The ship crew checked the chains to see if they were sturdy and then signaled to a man on the wall. The man signaled back and moved some sort of device along the wall. The ship was lifted up to the height of the fourth row of openings. The ship was then rotated slowly by the chains so the stern was facing the opening. Two dragons then flew out of the opening and grabbed something along the wall. They pulled out a large tub-like wood structure which the ship was lowered into, and then pushed it back in.

Astrid was amazed how perfectly that had unfolded and then realization hit her. Each of these openings housed a Roman ship. She looked around the cavern. There were hundreds of openings, several of which were for carriers, which, in turn, housed almost 50 dragons. Astrid became severely frightened. They didn't just want Berk, they wanted the entire northern waters. Astrid was so busy figuring this out that she hadn't noticed the ship had stopped until the sound of clanging chains brought her back.

The prisoner ship sat in the very center of the hangar. Astrid watched as the crew used the long metal rods to pull blood-red chains towards the ship. "I bet you're wondering why they're red, huh Missy?" Astrid almost jumped at the captain's voice. "It's because, you're not going into the shipyard," the captain said, "You're going to the arena." He began to laugh as he signaled to a fishing boat-sized ship ahead of them. The man on the ship nodded and moved a small dish. Astrid almost fell over from the sudden lurch upward.

* * *

The people cheered as Astrid and a few of the other vikings were shoved out of a gate into the dirt battlefield. "Welcome, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls to the coliseum of Neptune." Astrid looked up to see the black-armored man addressing the crowd. "Today, the vikings of Berk,"Romulus said as he gestured towards Astrid and the other vikings. "Versus our reigning champ, the Crimson Flame." The crowd roared in excitement. "Are the fighters ready?" Romulus asked and nodded at a small teenager standing next to a lever. Astrid lifted her axe as the boy pulled the lever down, releasing the locks on the gate in front of her. "Then let the battle begin!"

The gate blew open in a fiery blast as a large Monstrous Nightmare crashed through. It fired a blast of fire at the group of vikings who just barely dodged it. _A dragon, really? _Astrid thought as she threw her weapon to the ground and charged the beast, yelling out her signature battle cry. The crowd roared in approval. She dodged one of his fire blasts and ducked under his head. Quickly, she lunged upward and grabbed his horns, pulling him down to the ground. The dragon roared and then ignited, almost catching Astrid off-guard. She was surprised by its response as other Nightmares responded well to that treatment. It blasted another stream of flame at her, which she tumbled away from. _Think Astrid, what else can you do. _She dodged another fire blast. _Nightmares respond well to a gentle hand. _One of the other vikings charged the dragon, but was swatted away by its tail. _But he'll never let me get close to him. _Another fire blast almost got her while she was thinking. _Think. Why do Nightmares like a gentle hand? _"That's it!" Astrid exclaimed as an idea hit her. Slowly, she walked towards the dragon with her hands up. The crowd became very quiet as they watched the unusual behavior. One of the other vikings stood up to strike, but she motioned for him to stay down. The dragon watched as Astrid approached, quietly growling under his breath. When she was a few yards away, she lowered herself onto her knees and raised her hands up higher. Then, she bowed to him.

Romulus watched as the dragon approached the girl and nudged her hands with his snout. Slowly, she stood up and placed her hand on its snout, calming him down. The crowd began to boo, and the dragon blasted at them. Romulus turned to a man on his right. "Stop the fight,' he said calmly. The man nodded and ran off. A few seconds later, several Legionnaires charged into the arena. The chained up the dragon and the vikings, including Astrid. The dragon began to flail around and blasted at Astrid's attackers before it was locked back in the gate. "First." Romulus called. First ran up next to him and bent his ear down. "Bring her to my quarters," Romulus said pointing at Astrid. "Yes, sir." First responded and walked off. Romulus smiled under his helmet. "You may be even more useful then I previously thought, Astrid Hofferson."


	6. Romulus & Remus

"Snotlout, there is no scientifically possible way that that man could be Hiccup from the future." Hiccup sighed and rested his head on his arm. "Then why does he look like him, huh Fishlegs?" Hiccup stroked the axe laying in front of him. "Because he just happens to." Hiccup let out a few more tears. "Yah right, admit it Fishlegs, I have to be right, there is no other explanation." Hiccup buried his head in his arms. "There are plenty of other explanations." Hiccup began to cry softly. "Oh yeah, then give me...he's waking up!" Snotlout yelled at the top of his lungs. Hiccup jolted up from the noise and rubbed the tears from his red eyes. He felt a soothing nudge on his side and he turned to find a concerned Toothless. Hiccup smiled and rubbed Toothless' head. "You're right, bud. I have a duty to do," he said, "I have to be strong...for Astrid."

Hiccup sniffed a little as he walked up to the chair that the man sat in. The man closed his eyes shut tightly and then opened them widely to wake himself up. "Who are you?" Hiccup asked. "Water...need...water." The man muttered. Hiccup nodded at Fishlegs who fulfilled his request. The man quickly emptied the glass. "Who are you?" Hiccup asked again. The man took a deep breath and looked up at Hiccup. "I am..." He was cut off by Hiccup's mother walking in the door. He just stared at her, taking in her features for a while, and then stood. The man slowly walked towards her. "Valka?" He questioned. She stopped to look at the man. He reached up and examined her hair. "Valka, is that really you?" He asked, a hint of emotion coming from his voice. She looked at him, puzzled. "Should I know you?" She responded. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand up to his face. "Got my nose."

Valka breathed in sharply. "Remus?" She asked. He smiled and nodded as a tear flowed from his right eye. "Remus!" She yelled as the two embraced. The three boys watched in puzzled astonishment. Remus spun Valka around and the two seperated. "Look at you," he said, "Mother would be so proud." Hiccup became even more confused. "Mother?" He questioned. Remus turned to him. "And is this your son?" He asked walking up to Hiccup and examined him. "He is built just like the great Roman warriors that came before him," he said. "Roman?!" Hiccup exclaimed. Remus embraced him. When he released him Hiccup gave him a completely bewildered look. "Who are you?!" He yelled. Remus smiled. "My boy, I am your uncle Remus." He responded and embraced Hiccup again. When he released he turned to Valka. "Where is his father? I would love to meet my new brother-in-law," Remus said. The room turned silent and the viking heads looked down at the ground. Snotlout removed his helmet. Realization hit Remus like a brick. "Oh...oh, I am so sorry." He walked up to comfort his saddened sister. "Well, I have a story to tell you, too."

* * *

_Riding wings of black, the heir of Julius shall unite his people, and with the power of the Dragonstone, conquer the greatest of his enemies._

Tuffnut looked at the mysterious man. "That didn't rhyme," he said. Remus took a sip of mead. "I said it was a prophecy. I didn't say it rhymed." He responded. "But aren't prophecies _supposed _to rhyme?" Snotlout asked, taking Tuffnut's side. Remus smiled. "Not ones from this source, this source tends to be a little less confusing, yet much more vague." Remus answered. "Now onto the story."

_Romulus and I were born twins to Emperor Julius II. Fifteen years before our sister, Valka. When a Roman child turns ten, they are given the chance to receive a dragon. This is either a dragon who has been in the family for some time, an egg of such a dragon, or if they wish to be a warrior, they can go out into the wild to claim their own. Having been trained by private tutors, Romulus and I were more then prepared to train our own dragons, so when we turned ten, we set off. We searched for over a week, and we found many wild dragons, but none of them felt, right. For me, I sought one with limitless grace and beauty, whilst unbeknowst to me, Romulus sought one with limitless power. Then, one day, it began to storm. Frightened, we found shelter in a small cave hidden within the wilderness. The next day the storm showed no sign up subsiding, so we explored the cave. That's where we found them. _

"What? What did you find?!" Snotlout yelled out. "I was getting to that." Remus responded.

_We found three dragons. We recognized one as a Blue Death, or Night Fury. We were astonished, those dragons were the rarest we knew of. However, we were even more surprised by the other two. One was a pure black with sharp claws, a ferocious tail and six eyes. The other was a beautiful white. She was of sleek build with a long neck and tail, twice as long as the Blue Death, but half the width. Her tail and wings ended on several round protrusions, like lose along a zippleback's back, and she had a backwards facing crest, kind of like hair, that also ended in those protrusions. We stared in awe at the beasts, completely unaware that they had woken and were staring right back at us. They Blue Death growled at us, knocking us out of our daze and then the other two advanced. The black one approached Romulus and roared at him, and he roared right back. This seemed to please the beast as he let Romulus touch him. The white one walked up to me and scratched herself on my leather boots, clearly not frightened by me at all. __We bonded in the caves over the next few days as the rain continued to pour and when we left, we left on the backs of our two new dragons._

"What about the Night Fury?" Hiccup asked. "She stayed behind, we later learned she was protecting her eggs. It takes a long time for an Alpha species to meet the right conditions to hatch and, unfortunately, she never got to see them." Remus responded.

_For the next five years, Romulus and his 'Black Death' as he called it became the most powerful fighting team in the land. Defeating everyone except me, our only match ending in a draw. That was when our elders decided to look into the furthest reaches of our records and found that they were two Alpha species known as the Black and Yellow Deaths. It just so happened, while looking through those records, they found the prophecy._

"The one that doesn't rhyme?" Snotlout interrupted. Remus sighed. "Yes, the one that doesn't rhyme." He responded.

_Romulus believed that the prophecy was referring to him, adding onto his already big ego. He began to 'unite his people' into a great army, and to make sure that the prophecy was about him, he hunted down the Blue Death to ensure their were no other 'wings of black'. In his spite, he killed her, but he found no eggs, as I had already retrieved them. However, this angered him further and he turned his rage towards our father and his city. He attacked without remorse, killing our father and burning the city he had built. The trauma was too much for my mother and she died a few days later. I confronted him, but I was no match for the skill he had been refining for so long. He locked me and my dragon up and took the crown of Rome for his own, claiming that he would conquer Rome's greatest enemy, the world._

Remus took a deep breath. "Thankfully, he was so blinded by his rage that he didn't notice a small ship sailing away with a baby, a dragon, three eggs, and a stone," he said as he smiled at Valka. Fishlegs stood up quickly. "Wait, did you say a stone?!" He exclaimed. Remus nodded. "Yes, while Romulus was busy building his army, he forgot about the stone, giving me the chance to find it." He explained. "So, where is it?" Snotlout asked. Remus pointed at Valka. "Wherever your men found her all those years ago." He responded. Hiccup stood, still confused. "Wait, if the stone has been on this island the whole time, then why has Romulus waited for almost fifty years to come looking for it?" He asked. "Because he never expected it would be up here until the new prophecy he received a year ago." Remus laughed. Tuffnut looked at him. "Does that one rhyme?"

* * *

"I told you everything I know about Berk, I swear." The Berserker yelled as two Legionnaires dragged him away. "I said you wouldn't be harmed as long as you provided information." Romulus responded. "And you can no longer do so." He waved as the screaming Berserker was dragged away. First walked in with Astrid in tow. "Ah, Astrid Hofferson. Or should I call you Astrid Haddock as that will be your name pretty soon," Romulus said to her as they walked in. Astrid struggled against First, but the arena had drained her of most of her energy. "Now, now, you don't have to be so feisty, I was merely making an observation." He turned to First. "Leave us." He commanded. First bowed and then exited the room. Astrid stumbled as she got to her feet. "What do you want?" She asked sternly. "You look awfully tired, my dear, care to sit," Romulus said as he gestured towards a chair. When Astrid didn't move he continued. "I couldn't help but notice your extraordinary dragon training abilities in the ring today and well, I have a proposition for you." She just stared at him hatefully. "There's a certain dragon I've been having issues with, she won't eat, sleep, and most importantly, she won't listen to the Alpha" He explained. Astrid gave him a blank look. "And this benefits me, how?" She asked. "If you agree to train this dragon, then I will keep you out of the ring." He responded. "Like you kept that Berserker out of the ring?" She argued. Romulus said nothing and smiled under his helmet. Astrid got the idea. "And if I refuse?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer. "Your next match will be against three of my most blood thirsty dragons. And we don't want to have to tell Hiccup you were killed by a dragon, do we?" He answered. Astrid remained silent. "Good. First, take her to the special cage."


	7. Discoveries

"Are you sure this is the spot?" Remus asked his sister as they stood next to a cliff. "This is where he took me." Valka replied, mentioning her adopted father. When she was younger he had taken her on a journey to the woods to show her where he had found her. She had memorized the entire path. Unfortunately, she had memorized it on foot. While Remus examined the cliff side, the vikings collapsed onto the ground. "I'm so sore I bet I couldn't feel anything," Tuffnut said as he rubbed his legs. Ruffnut clogged him in the head. "Did you feel that?" She asked. He sighed. "No...try again." He answered and she began to pound on him. Fishlegs wheezed at the exertion. "Did we really use to walk everywhere?" Snotlout complained. Hiccup remained silent, he was too busy wondering if Astrid was alive. "Did you even see the cave?" Remus yelled out to Valka. "No, but he said it was around here." She yelled back, messaging her feet. "Aha!" Remus exclaimed.

The vikings forgot their previous exhaustion and ran over to where Remus stood. "Right here." He said, pointing at a small symbol. It was a circle with a stereotypical crown in the middle. Tuffnut looked at it, confused. That's the cave?" He asked. Remus sighed, he had a very low tolerance for stupidity. "No, this is the mark of Crownringer, which means he blocked off the cave." He responded. "Crownringer?" Fishlegs questioned, scratching his head. "Crownringer was my father's Stormcutter and the dragon we sent to protect Valka and the stone." He answered and pushed the vikings away from the cliff side. "Hiccup, have Toothless fire right on that spot." Hiccup did as his uncle asked and Toothless fired a plasma blast onto the symbol. The rocks collapsed from the cliff side, revealing the cave. "We found it." Remus commented and pulled a torch from the small bag that hung by his side. Toothless lit it for him and the group walked inside. Two shadows zipped through the trees behind them.

The group walked through the long cave for a few minutes before stepping into a large cavern. Roughly twenty feet down from their position, the rock gave way to water. Remus looked over to the other side of the cavern where a few rays of sunlight were coming out of the wall. "Crownringer must've blocked off the cave's access to the sea." He analyzed. Fishlegs was the first to look down at the water. "Guys, look!" He said, pointing at where the rock wall met the water. The group looked down at where he was pointing. A moderately sized fishing boat sat along a small outcropping in the wall which served as the ship's dock. "I found a path!" Snotlout yelled, pointing down a long smooth walkway that curved across the wall down to the outcropping. "Let's go." Remus commanded, taking the lead as the group walked down the path. The two shadows exited the cave behind them.

The first thing they saw were the skeletons of the deceased crew. They still wore the clothes that Remus had watched them leave in. "What happened?" Remus asked. Valka remembered the sounds from her dream. "There was a storm," she said, "A really bad one." Remus nodded in understanding and waved his torch around. The light came to rest on the skeleton of a Stormcutter that was wrapped around the bottom half of a broken egg. The other pieces of the egg were mixed with his bones. "Crownringer." Remus said as he walked towards the bones. He examined the broken egg. "You protected this egg to your last breath." He placed his hand on the dragon's skull. "Be at peace," he said as he stood to look at Toothless. "Your sacrifice was not in vain." Hiccup realized what he was saying and walked towards the egg. "Are you saying, this is Toothless' egg?!" He asked. Remus smiled. "Unless he hatched from one of the others." He became deadly silent. "The others..." He trailed off as he sprinted for the lower deck. Hiccup followed him.

Hiccup walked down the stairs to find Remus on his knees. "No...no, they can't...no." He heard his uncle say as he went to see what he was looking at. A small nest lay on the ground. In the middle was a small indent where Toothless' egg had once sat. On either side were two destroyed eggs. By the way they cracked, Hiccup could tell it wasn't from hatching. Toothless bounded down the stairs behind them and walked over to the nest. Remus looked at him, teary-eyed and stood. "He really is the last of his kind," he said, petting the Night Fury. Suddenly, a yell came from above. "Hiccup!"

Two Stormcutters sat on the side of the ship. A pair of black clothed Legionnaires stood on the deck, one of which was snatching a small pouch from Valka while the other held the rest of the vikings at sword-point. When Hiccup and Remus appeared from the lower level, the first Legionnaire kicked Valka over and shook the pouch at them. "Lord Romulus thanks you for your kind donation," he said, putting the pouch into a pocket on his belt. "Maybe he'll be generous enough to return your girl." The man laughed as he climbed onto one of the dragons. _So she was alive._ Hiccup became enraged and he unsheathed Inferno. "You give her back! Now!" He yelled as he charged the man. The man just laughed as the Stormcutter jumped out of Hiccup's reach. The other flew from its perch and grabbed the other Legionnaire. Hiccup swung his sword at the retreating duo in rage, forgetting that it did nothing when you missed your target, and the two shot back through the caves, Dragonstone in hand.

* * *

First shoved Astrid through the steel door. She turned and charged, but he had already locked the door and she collided with the metal, knocking her to the ground. She spat at the door as she stood, and then turned towards the inside of the cell. It was incredibly large, the size of the cove on Berk, and was filled with a small forest, blocking of the other side of the room. Curious, she began to cross through the vegetation.

Halfway through, Astrid began to notice small marks on some of the trees in several different colors. _Strange,_ she thought. A little further in, the marks began to form basic shapes and then eventually, simple drawings. Astrid rubbed her hand across one of the shapes and then looked at the residue left on her fingers. "Paint?" She continued through the forest. The simple drawings started to become elaborate paintings of buildings Astrid had never seen before. Some had tall columns while others had huge archways. She moved on. The buildings began to have backgrounds, and then eventually inhabitants. Astrid became increasingly curious as she reached the end of the forest.

A small pond sat in front of Astrid, surrounded by several large rocks which had been painted with different scenes. Behind that stood a huge rock wall with large buckets underneath. On the wall was a painting of a man that looked a lot like Hiccup, but she knew it wasn't him from the features that she didn't recognize. "Who..." Astrid was cut off by a rustling noise to her right. She ducked behind a rock and watched as a white dragon stepped out of the woods.

The dragon had a slightly long neck and a small head with a rounded nose. On the back of its head was what looked like a line of hair made from Zippleback zipples, except a little longer. Its body was sleek and smooth, except for a few long extensions along its body. It was so smooth that Astrid almost couldn't tell it was made of scales. It stood on two thin hind-legs the length of Toothless', and two wing legs on the front. The wings ended in long rows of the zipples. The dragon's tail was twice as long as its neck and bristled with the zipple-hair.

Astrid watched as the dragon dipped its tail into one of the buckets, turning it green, and then shake off some of the excess paint. It quickly flew over to the Hiccup-like drawing and began detailing the eyes with the green paint. _So this is our artist, _Astrid thought as she observed the painter. It colored the face's eyes with unmatched detail and Astrid couldn't help standing for a better view, causing a twig beneath her to snap. She quickly dropped down and kept perfectly still behind the rock. When she thought the coast was clear she stood from her hiding spot to find that the dragon had disappeared. Slowly, she walked around the rock. A rustling sound came from behind her and she turned. The white dragon stood on the rock, analyzing Astrid.

They looked at each other for a long time, neither willing to move, until the dragon stepped down from the rock and began to circle her. Astrid remained perfectly still while the dragon examined her, not wanting to provoke it. It moved around her, never taking its eyes off of her. When it completed a full circle, the dragon stepped back onto the rock. It extended its neck so that its face was a yard from Astrid's. She watched it tilt its head as it continued to analyze her. When it was satisfied, the dragon pulled away from Astrid. Then, it darted over to the wall, dipped its tail in yellow paint, and began to work.


	8. Bonding Time

Remus slammed his hands against the walls of the Haddock home. "How could I have been so stupid?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "Of course it was a trap. Romulus is too smart for it to have been an accident!" Valka slowly walked towards her brother with her hands up in a calming manner. "Calm down, Remus,"she said. He turned towards her. "Calm down! Calm down! Now that Romulus has the Dragonstone, you expect me to calm down?!" He screamed at her. He punched the wall, slightly cracking some of the boards. Valka waited as Remus took a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just...I sent the stone with you to hide it from him, and I...I found it for him." Valka walked over to him and began to rub his back in a soothing manner.

Hiccup bounded down the stairs. He wore his just his flight suit, without any of the extra chief stuff, and carried a large bag. Valka watched as he started throwing fruit into the bag. "And where are you off to?" She asked him. Hiccup continued to throw food into his bag as he answered. "To get Astrid." His mother stood in front of him and crossed her arms. "And do you know where she is?" She asked. "Wherever Romulus is." He replied. She moved her hands down to her hips. "And do you know where _he_ is?" She demanded. Hiccup continued with his packing routine, completely unphased by the question. "No. But I won't rest until I find my Astrid and have her safe in my arms." He responded, determination radiating from his entire person. Valka sighed and then turned to Remus. "Talk some sense into your nephew." She commanded. Remus walked over to his sister's side. "She's right. You shouldn't leave without knowing your destination," he said, and then he smiled. "Unless, of course, you took someone who did." Hiccup looked up from his activity. "You volunteering?" He asked. "You got a map?" Remus responded.

* * *

The pair waited for nightfall, not wanting any of the villagers to discover where they were going. Quietly, the slipped out the back door of Hiccup's house and sneaked along the outskirts of the town. Normally, they could've snuck through the center of town, but the frozen army had been moved there, and there were people working on trying to thaw them 24 hours. Toothless made a small grunting noise and shook off some of his tiredness. Hiccup turned to look at him with his "If you get us busted, I'm going to kill you" face. They soon reached the cliff overlooking the docks and mounted Toothless. "Alright bud, let's get going." Hiccup whispered to his dragon, patting him on the side of the neck. Toothless stretched himself out and let his wings out. Slowly, he lifted them up. With one strong flap, the three were off like a bullet.

When they were a good distance away, Remus let out a roaring laugh, startling Hiccup. "Ah, I haven't flown on a dragon in almost 50 years. I'd forgotten how great it felt." He yelled over the rushing wind. He lifted his hands to touch the clouds that floated above them and laughed again. The cool chill of the passing air flowed over him as he closed his eyes. When he felt slightly content, Remus dropped his hands and rubbed Toothless' back. "Truly magnificent." He commented and then leaned into Hiccup's ear. "How fast can he go?" Hiccup smiled under his mask. "You may want to hang on." He replied. Remus laughed and latched onto his nephew as Toothless launched himself forward.

When the sun came up, the party rested on a small island, enjoying a breakfast of apples and bread. Remus took a bite out of one of the bread slices. "Mmmm...did you're mother bake this?" He asked. Hiccup laughed so hard that he began to cry. Remus smiled as he swallowed the piece. "She's that bad, is she?" He teased. Hiccup wiped a few tears from his eyes, still giggling a little. "Monumentally so. 20 years with dragons didn't help her cooking in the slightest." He responded. "I wonder what 50 years did to mine," Remus wondered out-loud, taking another bite of his bread. Hiccup looked at him with amazement. "You really lived with dragons for 50 years?" He asked. Remus swallowed the bit of bread he had just eaten. "Well, I wasn't going to spend it with the other prisoners that's for sure." Remus replied and then sighed. "But I never got to see my precious Solstice." Hiccup looked at his uncle with pitying eyes. "That's what you named her, your dragon?" He questioned. Remus nodded. The two went silent for a little while, eating their breakfast. When he finished, Remus pulled out the map. "Alright, lets see where we're going next."

The three soared for an hour in complete silence, until Remus decided to make some small talk. "So, that Spitelout guy is your dad's brother. You two get along?" He asked. "We really just tend to ignore each other." Hiccup replied. Remus nodded and put his hand up to his chin. "So the position of favorite uncle is still open." He observed. Hiccup laughed. "Why, you think you have it in the bag?" He teased. Remus smiled and grabbed Toothless' back. Slowly, he lifted himself to his feet. Hiccup looked back and was astonished to see him standing on Toothless. Remus laughed. "Well, it obviously isn't going to be Romulus," he said, and jumped off.

Hiccup looked down to find his uncle, but he couldn't see him. He was about to have Toothless stop when a Nadder flew up next to them with Remus in its claws. It held him in such a way that it appeared he was standing on a ceiling. He bowed to Hiccup, or at least Hiccup thought he bowed. It's really hard to tell when someone is upside-down. Then he stretched his arms out and the Nadder let him go. To Hiccup's amazement, he performed three backflips and landed with on the twos of his right foot on top of a Gronckle. Remus then hopped up, placed his feet on the Gronckle's wings and shot up 30 feet onto a Timberjack's wings. He sprinted across the dragon, grabbed its left claw and swung down onto a Monstrous Nightmare. Finally, he waltzed down the Nightmare's wings onto Toothless' back, where he slowly lowered himself back to his seated position. "I think my chances are pretty good." He jested. Hiccup stared at him in complete bewilderment. "How..." Remus' laughter cut him off. "Boy, I was training dragons since your mother was in diapers." He answered, wiping off his sleeves. "And speaking of trained dragons." He pointed below them. Hiccup looked down to see the two armored Stormcutters from before. He became deeply enraged. He planned to have Toothless shoot them down when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Wait. It'll be faster if we follow them to the base." Remus instructed. Hiccup huffed, but kept his cool. _I will have my Astrid back._

* * *

Astrid sat on the rock closest to the wall, and watched as the dragon worked on its masterpiece. Every once in a while it would stop to look at her, then it would change a few things and continue. This continued for hours, but to Astrid it felt like meer minutes. She was so amazed at the dragon's work that her head began to synchronize with the movement of its tail. The dragon suddenly stopped and flew out a little further from the wall to get a better view. Astrid stared at the painting in disbelief. The dragon landed next to her and kept its head low. She looked down at it. Its eyes were blue with large black pupils, kind of like Toothless when he was happy. The eyes looked hesitantly from her to the painting until Astrid realized it was seeking her approval. "It's...it's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it." She said in amazement. The dragon let out a high purring noise, almost like it was rolling its tongue. This brought a warm smile to Astrid, the first since her capture.

The older painting of the Hiccup look-alike caught Astrid's eye and she walked over to it. "Is this your rider?" She asked, pointing at it. The dragon nodded as it began to lie down. Astrid could sense the sadness coming from the dragon and walked over to it. She sat down and slowly moved her hands to pet the dragon. When it showed no sign of fear she began to stroke its head. Slowly the dragon moved closer to her and rested its head in her lap.

A rustling sound came from the forest and Astrid stood up. The dragon growled and wrapped itself around her feet. Out of the brush, a teenager emerged with a bucket of fish and a tray of food. Shakily, he walked a little further and placed the two on the ground. Then he slowly backed up, bowed, and sprinted back through the woods. Astrid walked over to the tray and began to eat from it. The dragon followed her, but stayed away from the bucket. Astrid quickly wolfed down her food and licked her fingers to catch any of the left-over crumbs. She looked to the dragon. It's pupils had constricted into slits and it was staring at the bucket. Astrid stood up, walked over to the bucket, and picked up a fish. She held out to the dragon, who growled at it. "Come on, you have to keep your strength up, for when your rider returns." The dragon still looked unhappy, but its eyes dilated at Astrid's tone. Reluctantly, it accepted the fish from her. "Good...girl?" Astrid questioned. It purred at this, so she took it to mean yes. She rubbed the back of its head. Well girl, looks like we're going to become really good friends."


	9. Neptune's Reach

Hiccup, Remus, and Toothless followed the pair of dragon riders to a small snow-covered island where a Roman ship was docked. Remus tapped Hiccup on the shoulder and gestured his head to the opposite side of the island. Hiccup nodded and maneuvered Toothless around to the back. Quietly, the two men slid off of the dragon and hid behind a large mound of snow. "What's going on?" Hiccup asked quietly. "If they're following regulation, then they're meeting up with an escort to take the the rest of the way. Which would mean, we have a way in." Remus whispered. He began to slip around the mound. "Wait, where are you going?" Hiccup yelled at his loudest whisper. He turned to Toothless. "Stay." He commanded, and then went after Remus.

Remus was hiding behind an ice rock when Hiccup caught up with him. Hiccup could hear faint voices from the other side. Remus gestured for him to look around the side and Hiccup obeyed. "You see the small groups," Remus said as he pointed to the Romans on the other side. "Each is composed of a rider, an archer and a dragon. If we can get the uniforms and armor from a group then we can pass right through the security." Hiccup nodded, that sounded like a plan. A few of the voices started to get louder. Remus grabbed onto Hiccup and pulled him behind the ice. "I'll get the men, you get the dragon." He commanded. Hiccup nodded again and prepared himself.

"I'm just saying, there should be more stuff to do then just fish. I mean fishing isn't bad, but not something I want to do every day."

"Well there's always the coliseum."

"You know I'm not one for blood."

"Why'd you join the Legion, again?"

The two Romans followed their dragon around the corner, fishing poles in hand. As soon as it was in reach, Hiccup lunged at the dragon and scratched the sweet spot below its neck, knocking it out instantly. "What the..." The Legionnaire was cut off by Remus, who got the two Romans with a nerve attack. Hiccup looked at him amazed, he had never seen anything like that before. "How are my chances now?" Remus asked. "Pretty high." Hiccup responded. They dragged the three unconscious bodies back to where Toothless was waiting and began to change.

"What the...how do you..."

"No you're arm goes through there."

"Toothless, stop rattling the armor."

"How's this?"

"Your pants are on backwards."

"Your shirt is on backwards."

The three stepped out from their hiding place. Hiccup looked down at the armored Toothless. "Does he really need to where that?" He asked. "Do you want him to be recognized?" Remus replied. The three stumbled over to where the other Romans were preparing to take off. One of the men they passed gestured to Toothless. "I've never seen a dragon like that before, what is it?" The man asked. "He's...a...a...he's...a..." Hiccup stuttered. "He's a Black-scaled Longwing." Remus interrupted, saving their skins. The Roman nodded and then pointed to Toothless' prosthetic. "What's that?" He asked. "Oh, we took him from one of the vikings with that already on him. You know what they say: if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Remus replied, nervously laughing from under his helmet. The Roman was about to ask another question when the order was given to "mount up." Hiccup became extremely nervous as the two other escorts moved to the sides of the Stormcutters. "Calm down." Remus whispered. "Just fly directly behind them, pretend like you know what you're doing. For the girl, remember?" Hiccup nodded. _For Astrid._

* * *

After an hour of flying, the convoy came into visible range of the island. Remus leaned into Hiccup's ear. "Welcome to Neptune's Reach," he said. Hiccup just gawked at the magnificence of the island and the craftsmanship of the wooden portion. They passed over a few fishing boats and a small fleet of ships as they approached the island. A few of the Legionnaire's on the ships waved at the passing dragons, a couple even yelled out cheers. Hiccup was amazed at how easily the soldiers trusted and worked with the dragons. He was so distracted by the men, he almost missed when the rest of the group turned. Luckily, Remus smacked over the back o the head.

The convoy circled around to the rock half of the island. It was completely covered in holes and caves that dragons were flying in and out of. Some with riders, some without. The escort slowed as they approached a large hole in the island. Long enough for 10 Nightmares, but only tall enough for one. As they prepared to land, loud horns were blown from either side of the entrance. The group dismounted and sent their dragons off to the stables, except for Toothless, who didn't know what he was doing. Hiccup looked worriedly at Remus, who gestured his head to where the other dragons were going. Hiccup relayed his message to Toothless through hand signals, but Toothless only gave him a confused look. A few of the other Romans began to look at the dragon suspiciously, triggering his logic, and he quickly ran off to catch up with the rest of the escort.

As Hiccup watched Toothless leave, First came up to the new arrivals. "Everything went as planned?" He asked the black-clothed Legionnaires. The one carrying the Dragonstone pulled the pouch out of his pocket. "Absolutely, sir." He responded. First held out his hand and the man emptied the pouch onto it. Hiccup watched a pure black stone drop out of the bag. It was round and smooth like one from a river bed, but had a slight magic white hew around it and a spiraling white serpent was engraved on one side. First analyzed the stone for a brief moment and then turned back to the black-clothed soldiers. "You have done your duty, you are free to go." He commanded. The two men bowed and then stepped away. First turned to the escort, including Hiccup and Remus. "The rest of you, follow."

* * *

They swerved through the caves until they reached a large steel door, large enough for a Typhoomerang. As far as Hiccup could see, there was no keyhole or door handle, all he he saw was what seemed to be a right hand imprint next to a large circle. Remus leaned down to Hiccup. "Watch this!" He whispered, and Hiccup observed with great interest. First grabbed a metal gauntlet that he wore on his right hand and carefully slid it off, revealing a tight, brown glove with several metal dots in seemingly random places. He stepped forward and placed his gloved hand on the imprint. Hiccup heard several metal clicks as the pieces inside the door shifted, and then the metal circle flipped upward, revealing a keyhole. First removed his other gauntlet revealing another glove. This one had a thin metal line running up the wrist and a small compartment on the back. He took his right pointer finger, which had a metal dot on the end, and ran it up the line on his wrist. When he finished, the compartment flipped open, revealing a key.

Loud dragon roars came out of the room as First opened the door. He walked in, and the floor made metal clangs with every step. The group waited outside, apparently forbidden from entering the room. Hiccup had a straight view inside though, and he could see several display s, but he couldn't tell what they were. He watched as First walked over to an empty pedestal in the middle of the room and placed the Dragonstone on it. Then, First walked back, locked the door, and then locked up the key. "Stand guard," he said as he began to slide his gauntlets back on, "This is now the most important room on Neptune's Reach." The other guards quickly moved to spots alongside the door, leaving Remus and Hiccup. First pointed at them as they scrambled to get into what seemed to be the right spots. "Not you two," he ordered, "You are coming with me." Hiccup gulped in fear. _We've been discovered._


	10. Reunion

"We're a little short-handed at the moment due to the delivery, so I need you two to check on these prisoners." Astrid heard First say from outside her cell. She watched from the foliage as two Roman Legionnaires walked in with food and water. When the door was locked behind them they let out a sigh of relief. "I thought he had found us out." One of them said. The other looked at him and nodded. "Let's just finish this so we can get back to the task at hand," he said. They began to walk in the direction of the lake, and Astrid and the white dragon followed behind them.

One of them looked around at all the trees. He was just a little taller than the other. "Why do they need such a large cage anyway?" He asked. The other stretched out his shoulders and responded. "It helps soothe some of the more feisty dragons, allowing them to be tamed easier." The taller one nodded and looked around again. When she almost couldn't see them, Astrid tapped the dragons neck and it shot forward a few yards, creating a small rustling. The taller one looked up at where she had passed. "Did you hear that?" He asked, turning towards the other. The shorter one paid no attention to his question, he was examining some of the dragon's early paint marks. He stood up from his crouching position. "Let's keep moving." He told the taller one, and they continued towards the pond.

Astrid continued to follow them as they walked through the forest. The shorter one continued to examine the dragon's paintings, completely ignoring the taller one's growing fear of Astrid's constant rustling noises. "Seriously, I think we're being followed!" He yelled at his partner. The shorter one rubbed his hand next to a picture on one of the trees. "These are paintings of Rome's architecture." He whispered, and continued on. The taller one sighed and followed him. "If we die because of you, uncle, Mom will be outraged."

The pair emerged from the forest into the clearing with the dragon's latest creations. The shorter one examined the paintings as they walked towards the large stone wall. "These paintings are incredible. such detail." Astrid heard him say. He looked up at the wall. "Wait a minute," he said, "Is that me?" Astrid's eyes widened as the man walked up to the portrait. "Hey, look at..." The shorter one stopped talking as he looked over at what the taller one was examining. It was the dragon's masterpiece, a perfectly detailed portrait of Astrid. The taller one dropped the buckets he was holding and slowly walked towards the painting. He ran his hand along the artwork's cheek, and Astrid felt a slight bit of warmth run along her's. "Astrid."

* * *

Toothless followed the other dragons through a series of tunnels until they entered a large room in the cave system. It had several different paths leading in and out of the room. A loud growl caught Toothless' attention. As the other dragons continued, he stopped to watch as a group of Legionnaires dragged a large Monstrous Nightmare out of one of the caves. A pair of Roman officers followed closely behind. "The Crimson Flame remains undefeated," one of them laughed. "That's not true." The other responded. "I count that one against the Viking girl as a loss." Toothless' ears shot up at the mention of "Viking girl" and he snuck off behind the group.

They emerged into an even larger room filled completely with cages. The soldiers dragged the Nightmare to an open cage and chained him to metal fixings on the inside. One of the officers closed the door as they scurried out of the cage, locking it when the last one was out. "See you next match, Crimson Flame." The officer mocked. "Come on boys, let's go fetch some wine before we set sail." He threw the keys onto a table as the group walked into another cave. Toothless "_gracefully"_ removed his armor and then snatched the keys from the table.

The Monstrous Nightmare watched as the Night Fury waltzed over to his cage. He was a little suspicious of the small dragon, but it had traces of a familiar and soothing scent, so he remained quiet. Toothless "_skillfully"_ unlocked the Nightmare's cage and blasted out his chains. The large dragon slightly bowed in gratitude to the small dragon as they exited the cage. They began to advance towards one of the cages when Toothless heard a small groan. He looked over to one of the cages to find it full of Vikings. Not just any Vikings, these Vikings smelled like home. Toothless bounded up to the cage door. One of the Vikings looked up from the floor at the Night Fury. "By Odin's Beard, Toothless!" The other vikings looked up in astonishment, one of them fell off a stone slab bed. "It is him! Come on boy, open the door." Toothless tried out several keys until the lock clicked, releasing the Vikings. "Good boy." They said, a few even scratched and pet him. Toothless smiled in his classic gummy smile.

* * *

The white dragon leaped out of the woods onto one of the rocks behind the taller soldier. Astrid jumped off and grabbed his sword before he could react, and pointed it at his back. "How do you know my name?" She demanded. He took off his helmet, revealing several small braids behind his right ear. Astrid lowered the sword slightly in disbelief, but she brought it back up as he began to move. "Don't move! Just tell me how you know my name." She ordered. The sound of hair on metal brought her focus on the other soldier, who had removed his helmet. She gasped. He looked exactly like the painting, and even more amazingly, he looked a lot like Hiccup. The dragon purred as it walked over to him. "Solstice?" The man questioned as he dropped his helmet. The dragon chirped gleefully at the mention of the name and bounded into the man's arms.

_Wait, _Astrid thought, _this one called him uncle, and if they're related._... She looked at the back of the taller man..._Then they'll look... _The taller man began to turn around. "I said don't move." Astrid whimpered, terrified of what he looked like. She felt her knees begin to wobble as more of his features came into view. Messy hair, freckles, a scar under his mouth, and two tear-filled green eyes. She immediately dropped the sword.

* * *

Hiccup held tightly to his Astrid. He kissed her on the head as she cried in his shoulder. "You came." She whimpered. He smiled as tears flowed from his eyes. "Of course I did," he said, "I love you." Astrid looked into his eyes as the tears began to fall more frequently. Never had that one phrase held so much passion and love. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. Hiccup pulled her close to him and cupped her cheek. Astrid could feel his message, _I will never lose you again. _

"It's times like this I regret not having a chance to marry." The two lovebirds quickly separated as they remembered they weren't alone. Remus laughed. "You should see your faces. Now Hiccup, are you going to introduce me to my future niece." Astrid was surprised by the vocabulary. "Niece?" Hiccup clapped his hands together. "Right. Uncle Remus, this is my fiancée, Astrid; Astrid, this is my Uncle Remus." He introduced, waving his hands to each of his companions at the appropriate times. Remus stretched out his hand. "A pleasure, Astrid." Astrid subconsciously shook his hand. "Now, we need to fetch that stone." Remus said and picked up a stick. He crouched down to the ground. "Here's the plan." Astrid stared at him, paying no attention to his explination. "Uncle?"


	11. The Vault

Remus knocked on the metal door as Hiccup and Astrid prepared to pounce. "Just a second." First answered. Hiccup readied as the locking mechanism clicked from the turning of the key. "What took you so..." Astrid and Hiccup slammed him into the wall, holding him as Remus pulled out his sword and held it up to First's throat. "Remus!" He responded as the cold metal kept him from struggling. "Take the gloves." Remus commanded, and his younger partners obliged. "You'll never get past the guards," First laughed through his constricted throat. "And once Lord..." Remus slammed the sword hilt over his head, knocking him out cold. "Shut up."

Hiccup slid the two lock gloves over his hands, admiring their craftsmanship. Astrid smiled as he stared at them in wonder. _That's my Hiccup,_ she thought, and turned to Remus. "OK, we have the gloves, where do we go now?" Remus' eyes widened and he smacked his hand to his face. Slowly, it slid down over his irritated expression. Then he chuckled and pointed his sword at the unconscious officer. "I bet _he_ would know." He stated, sarcastically. Astrid looked at him for a second. "Sooooo?" She asked. "Check him for a map." Hiccup interrupted. "There's no way he can know every corridor in this place." Astrid looked over at Remus, who shrugged, and then began to search the man. She slipped her hand into one of his many belt pouches and pulled out several pieces of large parchment.

"This must be the most understandable map in existence." Hiccup stated as she rolled out the thirty pieces of parchment. "We could really go for without the sarcasm right now, thanks." Remus responded, momentarily moving his gaze to rest on his nephew before returning to the map. The two of them stood above the floor as Astrid knelt down, flattening the papers. "Why are there so many anyway?" Hiccup asked. "Thirty floors of complex tunnel systems, I'm just surprised he was carrying every single piece." Remus said as he bent down to get a more detailed look at the papers, trying to find the one they were on. "Probably the only guy on the entire island who is." Astrid pointed out as she flattened out the last paper. She stood up and stretched, and Hiccup began to massage her back. "Here!" Remus pointed at one of the papers. "That large circular room, that's where we are, now if we can just..." A yell came from down the hall.

"Hey!" The three companions stood to full height and held their hands up in surrender. "Whose idea was it to look at the map in the middle of a corridor, again?" Hiccup muttered to his partners. "Shut it." Remus shot back. They turned to face the Legionnaire. He pointed a loaded crossbow at them. "What are you doing with Captain First's map?" He asked accusingly, and walked towards them. He noticed the unconscious figure on the floor next to them. "Captain! Alright fools, for attacking a Roman military officer and stealing his possessions, I hereby put you under..." A white tail knocked him over the head and he clanged to the floor. "Good girl, Solstice." Remus said as he walked towards the dragon. Another yell came from the other side of the hall.

"Hey, I saw that." The three companions groaned as they brought their hand back up and turned towards the new soldier. This one was accompanied by a dragon. "Alright, for attacking Captain First and A Roman Guard, _I _hereby place you under arrest." Hiccup's ear twitched as he heard a familiar high-pitched sound. A plasma blast blew the dragon into the wall, and a large piece of wood slammed over the Legionnaire's helmet, knocking both out cold. "Toothless!" Hiccup yelled as the black dragon bounded in through the corridors. Toothless knocked him over and gave him a slimy lick. "I missed you too, bud." Toothless looked up and saw Astrid, to which he gave the same salivated greeting to. "Alright, well that's one more thing off of our to-do list." Remus stated. "Chief!" One of the vikings who had been following Toothless yelled. "Make that two."

Hiccup poked his foot at the unconscious officer. "So his name is actually First?" He asked. Remus answered without looking away from the map. "He was an orphan we found in the streets. Romulus called him his First Officer, so we just stuck with it." Hiccup nodded and evaluated their numbers. Toothless had retrieved about twenty vikings, but only ten dragons. "We'll have to travel in pairs." He mumbled. Astrid heard him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Then I get to ride with you." She said, pecking him on the cheek. "Yes, _dear._" Hiccup answered and gave her a full kiss. "Alright." Remus interrupted. "If you two are finished, I think I've figured this out."

* * *

The three looked at the guards from behind a corner. "There's more than when we left." Remus whispered. "What difference does two more make?" Hiccup asked, quietly. "Well if you hadn't noticed, they outnumbered us before and we only brought one more." Remus hissed. "No offence to you or your fighting skills, Astrid." He added. She frowned and then stretched out her neck. "Alright, watch and learn, old man." Astrid cracked her knuckles before grabbing the axe Hiccup had so kindly packed in Toothless' saddlebag. Loudly, she turned the corner. "Alright!" She yelled, lifting her axe. "Let's do this. Aaauuuggghhhh."

Hiccup winced as he watched the carnage unfold. But he couldn't look away, he loved it when she was like this. Remus paid no attention to the fight. "I'm not that old." Hiccup winced again. "I mean I know my hair's practically all gray." "Oooooooohhhhh." Hiccup's hand shot down to his sensitive area. "Sure, I have some minor Arthritis, and every once in a while I need to go to the bathroom unexpectedly, but I'm not that old, am I?" Hiccup looked up at him. "My Mom is 50." He said, and then turned back just in time to see why the soldier was screaming so high-pitched. Remus stood still for a second. "Gods, I'm old." He turned to watch as the fight ended.

The two men walked up to the door and Hiccup began to unlock it "So," Astrid began, "What did you learn?" Remus looked at her, confused. "Huh?" She rolled her eyes. "I told you to watch and learn, what did you learn?" She asked again. He looked back to the door. "I wasn't paying attention." He answered. Astrid blew out in exasperation. "I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks." She muttered. "Got it!"

* * *

Hiccup gawked at the sheer size of the room. He took his first step in, causing a clang sound. Looking down he noticed that the floor was made completely of grated metal. But it was what was beneath the floor that amazed him. Rows upon rows of metal cages covered the walls as the hole descended to sea level, where a familiar bubbling spring caught Hiccup's eye. "A Bewilderbeast!" He said, as he slid his hands over his hair in both fear and amazement. "We call it the White Death." Remus stated. "Do you call everything a _S__omething_ Death?" Hiccup asked. Remus chuckled. "Only those that can be Alphas." Hiccup began to walk towards the display cases the surrounded the pedestal. Astrid stood in front of one. "Hi...Hiccup...it's...it's.." Her arm shook as she pointed at the relic.

"Drago's arm and cape." Hiccup said coldly as he stared at where Astrid was pointing. "But how..." Remus interrupted them as he passed. "You never wondered where his dragon came from? No one just finds a White Death egg." Hiccup looked at him, shocked. "But, why..." He started. "Why does Romulus have it?" Remus finished for him. "Just as no one finds a White Death egg, no one comes back to Romulus empty handed. "Hiccup, look." Astrid pointed at another piece. "That's..." Hiccup finished for her. "Dagur's armor." She pointed to another case. "And that's..." Hiccup felt his heart sink all the way down the hole. "Savage's." He looked at his uncle, who stared back with cold eyes. "No one." Remus turned and walked towards the two cases closest to the pedestal. Hiccup followed, Astrid clinging to his arm in fear.

Remus stopped in front of the pedestal, equally between the last two cases. He turned to face his nephew. He silently gestured towards the case on his right. Hiccup walked up to it and analyzed it deeply. "A Night Fury skeleton?" He questioned. "Do you remember the story I told you?" Remus asked. Hiccup gasped and turned towards his dragon, who was growling at Drago's arm. "Toothless' mother." Remus nodded. "Yes, that was his second major conquest." He gestured to the case on his left. "And this, this was my brother's first." It was a mirror of Romulus' armor, except it was white and had gold cloth instead of purple. The details that were jagged on Romulus' set appeared smoother on this one. It was flawless except for a few break marks on the helmet where something had been removed. It had a mysterious shine, like it was made out of..."Dragon Scales," Hiccup gasped. Remus walked up to the case.

"This was my father's armor, and his father's before him, and his father's before him." Remus carefully opened the case. "It is meant to be granted to the heir of Rome on his fifteenth birthday." He shed his Legionnaire armor and removed the white armor from its display. "When Romulus killed our father, he took it as a prize." He slid the torso section on and began to adjust it. "But he wanted nothing to do with this armor, he considered our family weak." Remus finished the adjustments and slid on the boots and gauntlets. "So he locked it away and crafted his own. A better version, he called it." He sheathed the sword that was sitting in the case. "He forged new weapons, an entire arsenal." He looked down at the helmet in his hands. "He removed the crown and placed it into his own." He slid the helmet on and turned to face his nephew. Hiccup was amazed at how noble he looked. "Grab the stone." Remus commanded. "We're leaving."


	12. Romantic Flight

The three ran out into the hallway where the guards were beginning to stir. Astrid knocked a few over the head to keep them down. "This way." Remus ordered as he pointed out the path towards the hangar. They sprinted through the corridors, knocking over soldiers as they ran. Toothless stopping a few times to block the path behind them. They ran into a large group of drunk soldiers, causing Hiccup to stumble and lose his helmet. The group stopped momentarily to help him up, and the drunkards saw Remus in the royal armor. The stopped laughing and dropped to their knees. "Long live the Emperor!" One of them yelled, and the group returned to sprinting. They turned a few more corners before colliding with two men. The five slammed to the ground, causing Hiccup to drop the stone.

Romulus watched the stone roll past his foot. A man in Legionnaire armor grabbed it before he could make a move. A looked up at the young man and his eyes widened. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock. Just as the stories describe him." He muttered as the man was snatched by a Night Fury. "The Blue Death!" He yelled as he ran after them. A white dragon jumped off the wall beside him and followed the black dragon. "Solstice?!" He sprinted after them and First scrambled up behind them._  
_

The dragon riders emerged from the caves into the huge hangar cavern where, hopefully, the other vikings had escaped from. The two dragons bounded towards the drop, eager to get flying. Romulus burst out the cave when they were halfway there. "Stop them!" He yelled. Soldiers tried over and over to nab the two dragons, but they were too fast. Toothless jumped immediately into the air, but Remus stopped to look back. This was Romulus' first full look at him, and he was taken aback by the armor. "You..." That was all he could get out before Solstice and his brother leaped off the edge. Romulus let out a demonic roar. Feeling his anger, the Black Death let out a similar answering roar before flying in to land at his side. "Set sail, immediately. We continue on schedule. I will retrieve the stone." He commanded angrily. First just bowed and stepped back as Romulus mounted his dragon. "Tomorrow will be the end of Berk."

* * *

Hiccup looked back past Astrid towards the island. He saw Remus just a few yards back. He had Toothless slow down a little so Remus could catch up. "Do you see any tails?" Remus yelled over the wind, they were travelling at high speeds. "No, you?" Hiccup yelled back. "No. We should try and catch up with the others." Remus answered. Hiccup smiled. "Good idea, last one there has to eat Mom's home-made bread." He replied, making Toothless go to maximum speed. Remus laughed at his antics. "I hope you like your mother's bread." He muttered. He leaned down to Solstice's ear. "Show him girl."

A loud boom filled the air and Hiccup looked back in time to see the white dragon shoot past. A few seconds later, he heard it shoot pass. Solstice did a few corkscrews to slow down and then unfurled all six wings. She dropped back next to Toothless. "Impressed?" Remus yelled. "Where did those come from?" Astrid asked. "Seriously, weren't you hanging out with her? You didn't notice the four other appendages coming out of her body.?" He replied sarcastically. "I didn't know they were full-sized wings!" She yelled back. "We should really be getting to the others." Hiccup interrupted. "Yah, don't want you to miss out on your mother's cooking!"

* * *

It was almost dark when they caught up with the other vikings. Astrid looked up at the colorful sky and then rested her head on Hiccup's back. "You know what this reminds me of?" She asked softly. "I was just thinking the same thing." He responded. "Tomorrow's the big day. This is our last night as an unmarried couple." She said. "Then how's about a nice romantic flight?" Hiccup questioned. Astrid nuzzled her head on his shoulder. "That'd be nice." She answered and pecked him on the cheek. "Anything for you, milady."

The couple ascended to just under the clouds. Astrid could feel the tiny beads of water collecting on her face as she lifted up high. Feeling brave, she let go of Hiccup completely and raised both hands into the air to feel the white clumps of water. She closed her eyes in order to better gather the lovely sensation. Hiccup decided he too felt brave at this moment. Locking Toothless' tail, he began the extremely dangerous task of standing up. His mother and uncle could do it, why couldn't he. A few close calls later, he stood up fully on his dragon.

Astrid's eyes were still closed as Hiccup turned to face her. She opened her eyes and gasped at the amazing sight. Hiccup stood with the sun to his back, causing a silhouette effect that defined his toned, yet small muscle. The Legionnaire armor that he wore wrapped tightly around his biceps and abs. Astrid stared at him in awe as he stretched out his hand. Mindlessly, she took it and allowed him to lift her to her feet. She was almost completely up when her foot slipped on one of Toothless' scales.

Hiccup wrapped his arm around the falling Astrid, miraculously keeping both himself and her on their feet. She looked up at him in amazement and he smiled back. "I promised I would never lose you again. I intend to keep that promise." Hiccup said as he helped her stand up. Beaming, Astrid wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips into hers. His other arm snaked around her as the two became lost in the kiss. When they finally separated, the two love birds gazed into each other's eyes.

Slowly, Astrid's arms dropped down to Hiccup's elbows as he held onto her waist. Hiccup moved his right hand to meet her left and gently laced his fingers between hers. He raised their hands up to the level of their shoulders. Astrid smiled as she realized what was going on. Slowly, they began to circle around each other, moving their feet in small steps, perfectly in sync despite the absence of music. When they felt really daring, Hiccup spun Astrid beneath his arm, catching her so that her back rested on his chest, and then again so that they faced each other once more.

The white-haired old man watched as the two figures danced across the back of a dragon. Completely oblivious to the world around them, only concerned with each other and their dance. He wiped a tear from his right eye as he rubbed his dragon's scales. "Love is a truly beautiful thing." He wiped a few more tears from his eyes as Hiccup dipped his fiancée and then locked her in a kiss. He chuckled a little. "That boy truly has the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon." It was then that Remus realized how dark it had really gotten. "Looks like they'll need a little light, girl." Solstice cooed at the chance to let out her little special ability. Yellow lights formed across her back, and her wings began to let out a rainbow spectrum of light. The two ascended above the clouds to let off a little energy.

Hiccup helped Astrid sit back down onto the saddle and then carefully lowered himself down. Her arms wrapped around his waist and her head rested on his shoulder. "We should do this more often." She said. He gave her small kiss on the cheek. "Agreed." Hiccup looked around a little. "Where's Uncle Remus?" Suddenly, a blast of yellow light came from above them. The clouds were pushed away to reveal a clear, starry night sky. The couple paid no head to the stars though as six bands of rainbow-colored light waved out from a single source. Astrid smiled. "Found Remus," she whispered to Hiccup.

Hiccup's mouth was open in awe. Never had a seen such a beautiful sight. The dragon had created six auroras at once, but they shined with the light of twelve. He turned his head to look at Astrid. Her eyes reflected the light in the most perfect way imaginable. He took back his previous thought. _That_ was truly the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He didn't realize he had been staring for a long time until Astrid gave him a confused look. "Hiccup, is something wrong?" She asked, concerned. He shook his head. "No, no everything is perfect. You're perfect." He placed his hand on her cheek and began to move his head towards hers. When their lips were almost touching, he whispered one last thing. "I love you."

Remus smiled at the young couple and then turned his head forward to watch as the large silhouette became visible in the light of Solstice's aurora. The mountain scraped the very edge of the clouds and the statues breathed fire of life across the ocean leading to the harbor. Remus massaged his dragon's scales. "Take it in girl, this is our home."

* * *

The black dragon blended into the night sky, none of the other dragons in the area could even see its shadow against the stars. The rider stared out into the distance at a few black dots. His blood began to boil as he watched them approach their destination. His hand grasped around empty air as he envisioned retrieving his item from the thieves. He chuckled. _They're no match for my power. The Dragonstone will once again be mine. _The black dragon roared_._


	13. The Visitor

Night continued to cover the Isle of Berk. Remus smiled as families embraced those who had stood frozen since the Roman attack. Gently, he rubbed Solstice's neck, causing her to let out a slight pur. Hiccup laughed as he walked up to his uncle. "That is quite an impressive dragon. Without her special flames, I don't know what we would've done with those who were frozen." He had changed from his disguise back into his Berkian attire, but he had it stored away, as a souvenir. His hair had restored itself from the helmet mess he had had during the flight back.

Remus continued to smile. "I'm just glad to help." Remus continued to wear the white armor they had retrieved from Romulus' vault. It seemed to fit perfectly on him, but that was probably due to the advanced adjustment system on it. "Besides, I want to start on good terms with my fellow Berkians." Remus added. Hiccup nodded a little as he tried to figure out the hint that Remus had just dropped. When he finally got it, his face turned into one of the most surprised expressions Remus had ever seen. "You mean you're staying in Berk?!" Hiccup asked, astonished. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare house around that could accommodate a man and his dragon?" Remus answered. Hiccup smiled and then stood up tall. "Of course, sir, we have some very fine homes down this way." He said as he gestured towards the town. Remus laughed.

A piercing roar cut across the sky. Astrid and the other Vikings grasped their ears from the vast power from it. "Toothless!" Hiccup yelled as he launched into a full on sprint for his dragon and the saddlebag that held Inferno. Remus tried to grab him before he entered the open area, but missed by an inch. "Hiccup! No!" He yelled. Hiccup managed to make it to Toothless and was unbuttoning the saddlebag when the two were tackled by a large dragon, tossing Hiccup away a few feet. He slammed into a rock. The dragon's rider jumped down from his standing position on his beast and walked over to Hiccup. He could feel a cold blade against his neck, and could swear a few drops of blood were beginning to roll down it. "Do you know how much of a nuisance you have been." Hiccup remembered the voice, Romulus.

Slowly, as to not draw too much blood, Hiccup lifted his head to face his _uncle. _"It took me a while to put the pieces together, but I finally figured it out." Romulus turned his sword a little, causing a few more drops of blood to run down Hiccup's neck. "Six years ago, the 'Dragon Conquerer' and 'Night Fury' that Savage and Dagur were whining about. That was you, wasn't it?" He pulled his sword back and then swiped it across Hiccup's face, causing a cut in his right cheek. "And then, two years ago, the dragon that defeated Drago's Alpha. That was your 'Night Fury', am I correct?" He swiped his sword across Hiccup's face again, causing another cut on his left cheek. "And now, you have my stone. I want it back." He moved his sword in line with Hiccup's neck. A felt a faint tapping on his shoulder.

Remus punched his brother with a right hook to the jaw and then shook his hand out as he felt the force of metal on metal. Romulus stumbled back a few yards before stretching out his jaw. The Black Death roared in anger and prepared to attack Remus. "No!" Romulus yelled. "This one is mine, get the stone!" The dragon turned its head towards the fleeing Hiccup and bounded after him, releasing Toothless. Toothless in turn shot right past the beast and snatched Hiccup, turning the chase to the air.

* * *

The Black Death followed Toothless as he attempted several evasive manuevers, to no avail. Its mission was ingrained in its brain. Seeing their chief in trouble, the dragon riders took off into the skies, all except for Stormfly, who had just been thawed out. Snotlout was the first one to make a move. Hookfang flew right in front of the black dragon and Snotlout swung his hammer across its face. The Black Death became enraged. Its eyes glazed over with a white haze and white streams of energy began to flow across its back. The sight of the beast froze the dragon riders in terror, and then the dragon's ice breath froze Snotlout solid. The Black Death grabbed the block as it flew past and then chucked it at the ground, where it embedded itself 4 feet in the dirt.

The black and white blades crossed each other in a show of green sparks. "I should've killed you long ago!" The black knight yelled. The swords separated. The black knight swung his downward and the white knight brought his up, causing the to blades to clash, letting out another blast of green sparks. "It's a shame you didn't then!" The white knight yelled in response. Villagers fled as the two continued to match strikes in shows of green sparks. One of Romulus' strikes got through and broke a piece of Remus' shoulder armor. "And to think, mother and father were going to give you the throne." Romulus kicked at his brother, pushing him back several feet and causing him to fall backwards.

The Black Dragon roared at Toothless and Toothless roared back, a challenge of 2 Alphas. Hiccup unsheathed Inferno in preperation of battle. The two dragons prepared their powerful blasts. A beam of plasma collided with a white ice breath. The two blasts pushed against each other for almost a minute, and then Toothless started to become tired. The ice blast began to push back the plasma until Hiccup was forced to pull his dragon out. They barely escaped the full power of the ice attack, but it had struck Hiccup's prosthetic, locking it in place. Astrid was so stressed she almost pulled her hair out. _I can't just sit around and do nothing, not again._ An idea came to her.

Remus rolled back as he collided with the ground and stood himself up. "They were never going to give me the throne." He jumped at Romulus, bringing his sword down on his. Romulus pushed it back. "Then why were they always grooming you, giving you everything, I was clearly the better of the two of us!" Romulus swung his sword at his brother in pure bloodlust. "They gave us both the same Romulus, half of everything, including the throne." Remus pushed the reckless strike away from him. Romulus stood for a moment and lowered his sword in silence. Then giggling. The giggling turned to chuckling, and the chuckling turned to laughing. "You're right, Remus, they did give us each half." Romulus' laughing fell back to a small giggle. "But I was never satisfied with half." He charged at Remus, knocking him back several yards, straight into the Armory.

No matter how much heat he pumped into Inferno, it couldn't melt the Black Death ice. Toothless was exhausted, there was no way he could handle another blast like that. Despite having carefully analyzed this enemy, there was one factor Hiccup had left out, experience. The Black Death began to fire another blast. Toothless prepared for another dodge, but Hiccup seriously doubted they could pull it off. It fired its ice breath. A white streak shot out from underneath Hiccup and stood between it and Hiccup. Solstice let out a blast of yellow flames, countering out the Black Death's icy blast. It roared at the interference to its duel. Solstice flew back to line up with Toothless and Hiccup saw who was riding her. "Astrid!" His love smiled. "Together now!" She raised her axe. He smiled and raised his sword.

"I thought when I crushed you in that duel, that all of this was over, that my place as Emperor was secured, but here I find you wearing the armor of the Heir of Rome." Romulus plunged his sword into a weak spot on Remus' leg armor. "It seams, if I am truly to guarantee my seat, I most destroy you." Romullus looked around at the inventory of the Armory. He knelt down and read the crude label on one of the barrels. "Zippleback gas." A single sword slice cut holes in ten barrels, and the gas began to accumulate around the ceiling, slowly building its way down towards the floor. Romulus stepped outside the door and grabbed a torch from the outside of the building. "I'm truly sorry it had to end like this, but you've given me no other choice." He said. "Romulus, don't" He threw the torch into the filling up room. Emotionlessly, he walked away from the building.

Remus stared at the flame as the green gas descended from above. He removed his helmet and then turned his face towards the sky. "Hiccup, continue to live a good life, one full of love and joy. you have the heart of a chief, the soul of a dragon, and the strength of an Emperor. Do not mourn me, Hiccup, Valka, for I will never truly be gone, just as he will never truly be gone." The sight of the large statue of Stoick appeared in his head as a single tear ran down his cheek. He chuckled, and then closed his eyes. "I never did find out if I was your favorite uncle."

A large plume of flame erupted from the Armory, completely demolishing it. "Remus!" Hiccup could hear his mother scream. His eyes widened in terror, and he forgot about his battle with the black dragon. A claw snatched the small pouch from his belt and a tail smacked Toothless towards the ground. Hiccup collided with the dirt and tumbled several yards before coming to a halt in front of Romulus. A large thud told him that the Black Death had landed. It dropped the small pouch into Romulus' open hand and he removed the prize. "Thank you Hiccup, I can't wait to show you what this can do, but I think I'll save that for the finale tomorrow. I promise it'll be a huge surprise." Hiccup struggled to get up as Romulus climbed onto his dragon and left.

* * *

Hiccup stumbled to the charred remains that was once Berk's Armory. His mother knelt in the rubble in front of a white object. He could hear her crying as he approached. He felt his own tears begin to form as her sobbing became louder. But they only truly began to fall when he saw the relic that lie on the ground. A white helmet, completely untouched by the flames and soot, rested upon the floor, face-up. Hiccup fell to his knees next to his mother. She grabbed him tightly and he returned the favor as waterfalls continued to pour from her eyes. Never seeing someone for fifty years only to watch them die in front of you. Hiccup became angry. _It's not fair! _He yelled in his thoughts. _You already took away my father. Why? Why must you take another? _"Why must you hurt me so deep?!" He yelled to the sky. He fell onto all fours as the memory of his father's death came back along with all of the tears.

A comforting hand rested upon Hiccup's shoulder. He looked up with his red eyes to see Astrid. She sat down next to him and cradled his head as he continued to cry. She rubbed her hand across his hair in a soothing manner. "Don't worry, Everything will be fine." She said. She sounded so sure, Hiccup almost wanted to believe her. "You will always have me and Toothless, your mother, Cloudjumper, Stormfly, Solstice, Gobber. We will always be with you, just as your father and Remus will always be with you. In here." She rested her hand over his heart, making sure _not_ to click the button. Hiccup's tears began to subside. He rubbed his hand over his eyes. _She's right. _He thought. _They will always be with me, always. _He grabbed the helmet and placed it over his head.

Hiccup stood and faced the people of Berk and the Academy. "Romulus will return soon, and he will be bringing his entire Legion. He thinks Berk will be taken easily, that we're just a small island in a small world. But we are going to show him how wrong he is! I need all Academy students to return home and get your clans to come back us up. United, the Nordic people stand a chance against our greatest enemy! United, the Nordic people will show him what happens when you try to conquer the Vikings!" The crowd roared with the thunderous fury equal to fife thousand dragons, a fury that would protect their home to the bitter end.


	14. Silence Waiting

Hiccup stood in the council room. The other viking chiefs from the nearby islands surrounded the fire pit. There was very little discussion. Every single one of the chiefs had exactly the same plan: Fight to the last man. The details had been decided by the smartest of the council, Hiccup. Even Alvin the Treacherous respected his strategies.

Silence.

Long, patient silence. It was so quiet, Hiccup could hear a faint dripping from a closet on the other side of the room.

Waiting.

They sat around the fire, unwilling to move, unwilling to speak. Waiting for the alert.

Silence.

A rat scurried across the back wall. Even though Hiccup couldn't see it, he knew exactly where it was.

Waiting.

Alvin gritted his teeth in anticipation. They could arrive at any second.

Silence...

A horn sounded from outside. It was time. Casually, the chiefs stood from their seats. Each shook hands with every single one of the others. The worst of enemies, the closest of friends. The message was exactly the same, _it was an honor. _No one knew who would come back, only that some wouldn't. The last person Hiccup shook hands with was Alvin. "If I don't make it back, look after my island, Dragon Conquerer." The old warrior said. Hiccup smiled at the use of his old nickname, but it was an empty smile. The chiefs donned their armor and stepped out to where the tribes stood. Hiccup was the last to leave, he wore a special set of iron armor that Gobber had made from the last of their metal supplies. He stared at the silver helmet that sat in his hands and then to the white one sitting next to the chief's seat. He walked over to it and stretched his hand out. The white helm sat as his hand floated over it and then retreated to his side. _Not yet._

Eret was dressed in Outcast armor. He dropped the magnifying glass from his eye as Hiccup approached. What he had seen should've terrified him, but he was tired of being terrified. "What was with the alarm, Eret, I only see one ship." Hiccup questioned as he approached. Eret silently handed him the glass. Hiccup looked through in order to magnify the object. As soon as he figured out what was going on, he lowered the glass from his eye. "Odin help us."

* * *

_4 hours earlier..._

Hiccup waited for Alvin as he stepped off of his ship. "Hehe, good to see you, Hiccup." Alvin said as they locked hands in a hardy viking handshake. "If only it was under better circumstances." Hiccup replied. Alvin nodded and then led Hiccup to another ship that was unloading. "Heard you needed some extra supplies." Alvin mentioned as he gestured to the docking ship. It was full of Outcast armor and weapons. "These used to belong to some of my troops, before...before the Roman raid." A single tear fell from Alvin's eye before he turned away. Hiccup patted him on the back. The memories were clearly fresh in his mind. Scarlet was a beautiful girl, a fierce fighter, and a spitting image of her mother, Crystal. "Thank you, Alvin, let your victory be in their name." Alvin sniffed, stood up tall, and grabbed his axe. "For the Nords."

* * *

_6 hours earlier..._

Romulus landed onto the large ship. First ran up to him. "The troops expect a speech, Mi'lord." He told his master through his helmet. Romulus frowned. "Tell them they're not getting one, I have important preparations to make." He instructed as he stepped down a staircase into the lower levels. "Of course, sir." First responded as he followed Romulus down to the vault. He quickly opened it for his master. Romulus stepped in and then gave one last order. "Lock the door behind me, only open it if the boy comes." First bowed and then carried out his master's request.

* * *

_ 8 hours earlier..._

"Snotlout, go to Berserk Island. Fishlegs, you go to Outcast Island. Astrid, I'm sending you to Hogswell, but be careful." Hiccup commanded. Astrid pecked his cheek. "Always." The messengers climbed onto their dragons. "Remember, we need weapons and armor." The three nodded as they set off along with nine students. Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran up to Hiccup. "What are we doing?" Tuffnut asked. Hiccup smiled. "You're going to like this...I need you to go around the island and blow up any place where the enemy could put their ships, make it unlandable." The twins smiled mischievously and then ran off to their dragon(s). "And me, chief?" Eret asked, being the only one left. Hiccup handed him his magnifying glass. "You're on lookout duty."

* * *

_12 hours earlier..._

"Set sail, immediately. We continue on schedule. I will retrieve the stone." Romulus commanded angrily. First just bowed and stepped back as he mounted his dragon. "Tomorrow will be the end of Berk." First watched as the enraged Emperor took off. When he was out of sight, First began the long trek to the highest level.

He stepped through the village-like assembly atop of Neptune's Reach, before emerging onto the large open space overlooking the sea in front of the docks. Carefully, he walked to a large horn that sat along the edge in the very center of the over-look. With one deep breath, he pushed all the air he could muster into the horn, causing a long rumbling brass sound that reverberated across the entire island. Every ear in the Legion shot up at the sound. The soldiers quickly put their armor on as it was basically thrown at them. Riders called their dragons and set off as soon as they met up. Sailors rushed to their ships, and they were practically dropped from the chains into the water. Hordes of ships and dragons erupted from Neptune's Reach, as another, much more gruesome rumbling sound came from the island itself.

Rock crumbled away from the wooden sides as it slid forward from the mountain. A horde of 10,000 dragons pulled the chains around their necks, dislodging the wood from the stone. First watched in glee as the island of Neptune's Reach separated. Death Reach, a lonely stone mountain, stood in the waters of the North, full of holes and caves, black from its volcanic origins. Next to it floated Neptune's Wrath, the flagship of the Roman fleet.

* * *

Hiccup stared at the wooden monstrosity. It was half the size of the whole of Berk, and around it were the little specks of Roman battleships. The vikings watched as the small speck became larger, when it looked the size of a normal ship, the other specks began to appear. Fear enveloped the entire viking army as they realized that those ships were an equal distance from the large one. The ship stopped approximately 1 mile from Berk. The rest of the fleet followed its example. A rumbling, brassy sound erupted from the island-ship and the Roman soldiers let out a huge roar. Every other ship in their fleet began to advance. The battle had begun.


	15. The Dragonstone

Burning ships filled the waters between Berk and Neptune's Wrath. Screams came from the land and air as Nords and Romans alike fell to each other's swords. The dead began to form a wall between the two sides as they continued to collect. It was an even fight, the same amount of vikings fell as Legionnaires, but Hiccup knew that was a bad thing. There were way fewer Nords than Romans. _We need to turn the tables, _Hiccup thought as he looked around the battle field. Broken siege weapons were spread across the battle field. Red had begun to stain the grass on the hill Hiccup and Astrid had once laid upon. Holes covered the homes and shops o the island, as well as the dragon hangar. The Dragon Race bleachers had split down the middle and now sat in the water. The only things that seemed untouched were the Great Hall and the statue of Stoick. Strangely, the Hall was the only thing that was being guarded. Hiccup looked around frantically until he realized what had to be done. He turned Toothless towards the wooden monstrosity in the water and began a full charge.

First unsheathed his sword as he watched the black dragon approach. He swung at it, but Toothless easily dodged his attempt. Hiccup jumped off of his dragon as it knocked First to the ground, making him drop his sword. Hiccup picked it up from the ground and pointed it at First's neck. "Where is Romulus?" He demanded. First laughed and then responded. "Get this dragon off of me and I'll tell you." He responded. Hiccup nodded to Toothless, who let the Roman go. Chuckling, First pulled out one of his maps. He handed it to Hiccup, who opened it to discover a path had been marked in red ink. "Just follow that and it'll lead you straight to Romulus." First pointed out, and then removed his gloves. "You may need these." He said, handing them to Hiccup. Confused, Hiccup watched as the Roman bowed and then walked away.

Following the red path, Hiccup trekked through the empty hallways of the ship. No Legionnaires stood guard. Besides First and Romulus, the place seemed to have been abandoned. Toothless grumbled his disapproval. "Yah, buddy, I don't like this either." But they continued on. When the path seemed to darken ahead, Hiccup grabbed a torch. He half expected some sort of trap, but nothing happened. The hallways twisted and turned as Hiccup and Toothless continued down the path in the map. "Something is incredibly wrong here_._" Hiccup mumbled to Toothless. "You'd think there would be guards, considering we're in the middle of a battle." Without any resistance, the pair arrived at the large iron door. "Well, here we go." He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

It was dark. The sunlight that used to come from the roof had been covered by something, but Hiccup couldn't tell what. Slowly, he began to walk towards where the pedestal stood, or at least where he thought it stood. Toothless growled at the darkness, he could smell something, but neither of them knew where that something was. A slithering sound came from above and Hiccup unsheathed Inferno. Hiccup began to get a small feeling in the back of his mind. One of those feelings you get when something is...behind you! A black claw grasped Toothless' neck as Hiccup spun around. He saw six green eyes stare at the dragon before he was chucked outside the door.

"Toothless!" The door was slammed shut as Hiccup sprinted towards it, blocking him off from Toothless. He stood in disbelief as the Black Death slithered down into Inferno's light. It passed him, stopping only momentarily to look at Hiccup with its cold eyes. A cold laugh came from where the dragon had moved. "Romulus." Hiccup whispered to himself. He heard the sound of fingers snapping. The room filled with the light of over 50 dragons' fire, illuminating every crevice, but keeping it at a dark level. Hiccup took in his surroundings. Four huge chains were attached to four opposite points of the circular floor. Through the floor, Hiccup could tell that the Bewilderbeast was still there. All of the display cases had been removed, revealing a lever. The pedestal stood in the center, Dragonstone in place. A lone figure stood next to it, slowly running his hand across the polished stone, while a black dragon stood behind it, analyzing Hiccup.

Hiccup stared at the figure. He could tell it was Romulus by the dragon and the way that he caressed the stone, but his armor had changed beyond recognition. it was a mix of dark oranges and reds, with a black under-armor appearing in a few places. A long, black cape came down from his shoulders. Almost every armor plate ended in two spikes that mimicked dragon fangs. The helmet seemed to have been designed to simulate a dragon's mouth with a black cloth covering the opening where his face would be.

Romulus turned away from the stone and spoke. "I've been expecting you Hiccup." He removed the helmet and tucked it under his left arm. Hiccup looked at him, confused. He knew it was a trap, but it should've been sprung already. "Why did you lead me down here?" Hiccup asked. Romulus gestured to the stone. "I thought you might want to see what this could do." He answered. Hiccup kept his sword pointed at the Roman as he walked towards the lever and pulled it down. The floor lurched below them and then began its decent.

They passed several levels of dragon cages as they descended in silence. Romulus stood next to the stone, and Hiccup pointed his sword at him from halfway across the floor. They stopped at the middle level of the complex. Romulus removed his right glove and then slid his hand underneath the stone. "Behold, the power of the Dragonstone." A white haze formed around the stone. Romulus pointed it at Hiccup and then made a stabbing motion. A white ray of energy shot straight at Hiccup and he braced for impact.

Hiccup opened his eyes to find that the beam was going right through him, or to be more precise, it didn't seem to care that he was there. As he turned, Hiccup realized what Romulus' true target had been. A Deadly Nadder was surrounded by the same white haze as the stone. The beam had shifted its appearance so that it seemed like a tube of running water that flowed into the stone. The Nadder shrieked in agony for a while and then fell to the floor. Hiccup ran over to the cage and grabbed the bars, but there was nothing he could do. He watched as the dragon's eyes and scales dimmed, like the life was being sucked right out of it. Tears began to fall as its scales went completely matte. Hiccup reached his hand through the bars as the dragon's wings began to disintegrate, the dust being pulled into the stone. He was just able to place his hand on the dragon's snout before the rest of it disappeared into the vortex.

A laughing brought Hiccup back to the situation at hand. He turned towards Romulus with tears in his eyes. "Why...why would you do that to an innocent creature!" Hiccup yelled at the madman, who continued to laugh. "That was just step one, Hiccup. You'll understand when you see step two." Romulus answered as he turned towards his own dragon. He made the same motion with the stone, causing another white beam to emerge. This time, however, the energy seemed to flow _towards _the dragon. The white haze began to form around the Black Death, and it roared, but not in pain. Hiccup watched in horror as spikes began to form on the dragon's head and tail. Nadder spikes. When the process was finished, the dragon had the same spiky arsenal as the Nadder and had almost doubled in size.

Romulus laughed as Hiccup fell back from disbelief. The Black Death tested its new arsenal by launching a volley of spikes at the wall. Then it turned towards where the Nadder had once been imprisoned and let loose a stream of magnesium fire. Displeased, the dragon let loose its breathe again, this time the familiar white ice breath. The dragon seemed satisfied with the fact it could still breath ice and continued to switch its blasts until the cage bars shattered. Romulus looked to Hiccup. "Fascinating, isn't it? The stone steals the energy of one dragon and then puts into another dragon. The best part is, there is absolutely no limit to the amount of energy the stone can consume, or the amount it can dish out." Romulus raised both of his hands as he said this last line, gesturing to his entire dragon collection.

Hiccup's face turned a sickly pale. He stared at Romulus in absolute terror as he scurried up from his seated position. "You're...you're insane!" He exclaimed, fear and shock directing his actions. "That is yet to be decided." Romulus answered as he placed his helmet back on. He pressed a button on the lower jaw and a black face max slid up. "You should go, I want this next part to be a even bigger surprise then my last one." He said and waved his now open hand towards the door. The Black Death obliged; grabbing Hiccup with its tail, opening the door, and chucking him into Toothless. Hiccup rubbed his head as his dragon pushed them both up. "Come on, Toothless." He said. "Let's get the heck out of here." Toothless could tell that the experience had shaken up Hiccup, so he helped him up and the two bounded out the ship towards Berk.

Romulus smiled as the door closed behind the boy. "Now," he said, looking at the stone in his hand. "The real fun begins."


	16. The Beast

"Fall back!" Hiccup yelled at the top of his lungs. He waved his arm across his side in the direction of the Great Hall. "Fall back!"

Gobber stood in front of the Great Hall with Valka. He smacked a stray Roman over the head with his hammer and then looked to the skies. When he saw Hiccup signaling, he waved back. He turned to Valka. Another viking nearby looked up at where Gobber was staring. "Hey look, its Hiccup." A bunch of the vikings began to cheer. Gobber grabbed Valka's tunic and pointed towards her son. "Look, he's waving. You're doing great chief!" Valka narrowed her eyes to get a better look. "Gobber, he's not waving." The faint yell finally reached her ears, and she began to panic. "Everyone inside!" She screamed. "Quickly. Quickly!" Those that were close to her heard and obeyed, but their were still hundreds out on the battlefield. Gobber eventually caught on and then wobbled over to the battle horn, where he signaled a retreat.

The sound of the horn reached Hiccup's ears. He relaxed slightly as Vikings began to pull away from the fight to move into the Great Hall. He stopped Toothless when he saw Gobber go in to unlock the emergency exit. Hiccup had used to think that the exit was useless and stupid, but he was now more grateful than ever that the old blacksmith had convinced him it was a good idea. He breathed a sigh of relief as more vikings and some dragons went through the large doors. _At least I know a few were saved. _His relieved mood was killed quickly by the sound of cracking wood.

Neptune's Wrath began to creak. Not just a few boards of the monstrous ship, but the entire middle section. A large number of planks began to fly off. Large cracks began to form down the entire hull. Hiccup's eyes widened in terror. _He didn't_. The cracks began to increase in size, to the point were the could swallow a man whole. A deep growl came from within the ship. A peddle-tone deep growl. Toothless dropped his ears in fear and then backed away from the ship. Hiccup unsheathed his blade and bent down closer to Toothless. The ship began to shake. Even more planks began to fly off the vessel. And then, a bellowing, monstrous roar.

Hiccup watched as the ship expanded until it couldn't take any more, launching hundreds of thousands of wooden pieces flying through the air. A large, black dragon stood on the floating bottom of the ship before using its eight wings to create a tidal wave to destroy it. Several ships were hit by the wave, shattering them on impact. Four gigantic heads turned around to take in the surrounding area, whilst a fifth stared straight forward at the battle, a small orange dot, standing on top of it. Hiccup gasped, the heads alone were each the size of a Red Death. The huge beast soared towards the mountain, grasping it with its six huge tails. The Romans immediately dropped their weapons and bowed down before the mighty beast. Romulus laughed as The Black Death let out a triumphant roar. The vikings stood frozen in shock and fear. Hiccup sighed and then leaned down towards Toothless. "Come on, bud. We have a job to do." Reluctantly, the Night Fury made its way towards the beast.

Laughter filled the air as Romulus took in the sight of his frightened enemies. His face was now completely covered by a black silk that stretched from one jaw of the helmet to the other, but his voice echoed across the entire island. When his laughing had finally subsided, he turned towards the crowds of soldiers. "So you thought you could run from me?" He asked the people before pointing his staff at the door of the mead hall. The head he was riding snaked down and pointed its mouth at the huge wooden pieces. Valka and Gobber quickly grabbed the doors and pulled them shut. The center head let loose a large blast of ice, freezing the door way shut. A red flash came from the other side of the mountain, and Hiccup realized that another head had just turned the escape route, and anyone who had been using it, into ashes.

"Now that we have that taken care of, I demand the immediate surrender of all vikings, or I will kill you all." He began to laugh again. "Ah, I'll probably just kill you all, anyway. You've been a real pain." He continued to laugh as he lifted the Dragonstone above his head. "Game over." A small black dragon shot through the sky towards the monstrosity. Hiccup yelled as he tackled Romulus, causing him to drop the stone and his staff. The pair wrestled as they attempted to grab the stone, causing both it and them to fall off of the black dragon. They continued to fight on the way down as they each reached for the falling stone. Romulus grabbed it first, but Toothless caught Hiccup first. The Black Death roared as it lifted off to catch up with the Night Fury.

* * *

Hiccup hung upside-down, held by his feet as he grabbed the stone with both hands. Romulus dangled high above the waters of the sea, both of his hands firmly wrapped around the stone as well. Hiccup attempted to swing the stone around to make Romulus lose his grip, but the weight made it impossibly difficult. Toothless barely kept a hold of Hiccup as he dodged the huge tail claws that were trying to grab him. At one point, the Night Fury flipped around, increasing tension on Hiccup's grip. Romulus exploited the opportunity, tucking in in order to create more force. Hiccup yelled in pain as he let go of the stone, unable to hang on any more.

The Black Death stretched its head out in order to catch Romulus, whilst Toothless chucked Hiccup in the air, catching him on the way down. Romulus stood, Dragonstone in hand, and turned towards the pair. "That was a nice try, boys. But, no one can beat Emperor Romulus the Dragon Lord!" Romulus yelled as he lifted his hands up in a gesture of power. "Humble much?" Hiccup muttered under his breath. His eyes widened when Romulus pointed the stone at him. "Look out." He yelled as he pulled on Toothless' reins to get him to dodge. The blast narrowly missed the pair. Romulus fired another one at them, and another one. "Die!" He hissed under his breath, this time making contact with the dragon. Toothless roared in pain. Romulus laughed. "Now I have you."

A Deadly Nadder cry was heard as a spike collided with Romulus' wrist armor, knocking the stone from his grip. Solstice flew in and grabbed the stone as it soared upwards, releasing Toothless from its power. Romulus unsheathed his sword when a another spike caused him to lose it as well. He yelled in rage as Astrid flew by on Stormfly. Also, angered, the top-right head of the Black Death fired a blue blast of lightning at them. Astrid turned to watch as a large monstrous nightmare took the blast for them, killing it instantly. Astrid felt a few tears run down her eye. _When you gain a dragon's trust, you gain it untill death_. Solstice tossed the Dragonstone to Hiccup as she passed by, and Hiccup's three rescuers flew back towards Berk. Romulus fumed. "Give that back!" He yelled. The Black Death roared, charging at Toothless. Toothless quickly plunged down under the large dragon and shot off towards a favorite spot of his. The large beast followed.

Hiccup caught sight of where Toothless was headed and smiled. "Good idea, bud." The fog became thick as the large stone outcroppings became closer and closer. Their first real challenge when flying. Back when the two had first started training and were falling out of the sky. Hiccup liked to call it the Obstacle Course, and he still thought it was too dangerous for the other riders, including Astrid. Exactly what they needed right now. The pair shot through the maze of rocks at lightning speed, almost colliding with quite a few rocks. When they were through, Toothless slowed down from exhaustion and Hiccup turned around. "I think we lost them." He said. His happiness was cut short as the black monstrosity flew up into the air, blocking out the sun. "Probably should've seen that one coming." Toothless shot off again.

This time Hiccup came up with a plan. He turned Toothless towards the cliffs, where long caves that crossed across the island started. The pair quickly went into the darkest one they could find. The black death stopped at the mouth of the cave and let a loud roar into it, before moving on. Hiccup closed his eyes as he allowed Toothless' echolocation guide them. He opened them again when he knew they were out. "I think that worked!" he yelled. A bellowing roar informed him otherwise.

* * *

The pair of heroes stopped where the large crowds could see them. The two sides had stopped fighting and were now waiting on the outcome of their leaders' battle. "We can't run anymore." Hiccup said as he slowly unsheathed Inferno. The two were exhausted, both panting. The Black Death stopped in front of them and Romulus yelled at them. "Enough, I'm tired of this. Keep the damn stone, I've more than enough power to conquer the world. But, I can't have you ruining my plans any further." The five heads of the Black Death charged their different blasts. Lightning, fire, ice, water, and acid. Hiccup and Toothless closed their eyes. They were too tired. Hiccup held the stone close to his chest. _At least I know I saved a few._ He thought to himself. The image of a blonde girl took over his mind, becoming his final thought._ "_Goodbye, Astrid."

The five heads let loose.


	17. Face of Evil

Astrid wasn't sure what fell into the water, but it had her fiancé inside of it. She was sure, however, that the outer layer had been ice and Hiccup had escaped ice before. She ran over to the edge of a cliff and stared down into the water. The other vikings watched, waiting for her to give them a sign that their chief was alright. "He'll be coming up any second now." Astrid whispered to herself. The water below her didn't change. "Any second now." Nothing happened. She began to worry. Holding back tears, her hands began to clutch her heart. "Any second..." Astrid's voice wavered and she began to cry. The village began to remove their hats as she fell to her knees. Another chief had fallen.

A voice from behind interrupted Astrid's thoughts. "What a shame." She recognized the cold, heartless voice of her former captor. "It truly is. It would have been so much fun to see you two fight together in the arena." Astrid could tell that he had his sickening smile hidden beneath the mask. "But I guess you can be quite entertaining on your own." She cringed as his hand rested down on her shoulder. His helmeted head leaned down next to hers and he whispered to her. "In more ways than one." He didn't know what hit him.

Astrid shook her hand, waving some of the blood off of it. Romulus removed his helmet, a newly punched hole now set in the face covering. He clutched his nose as he gestured for his men to coral her with the other vikings. She was moved to the front of the large pack of vikings and had two guards assigned to hold her arms down. First ran over to Romulus. "Are you okay, sir?" He asked, legitimately worried. "I'm fine, First." Romulus responded. "But sir..." First reached with a handkerchief to tend to his master's nose. "I said I'm fine!" Romulus backhanded his servant knocking him to the ground, leaving him legitimately hurt. When his bleeding stopped, Romulus stood up straight, facing away from his prisoners. "You ruined my dramatic reveal, Astrid. But it matters little." He turned and Astrid gasped.

He was bizarre, truly bizzare. The first thing Astrid noticed was the pitch-black streak that crossed through his silver hair. And then, the red markings all over his face. Scars. Hundreds of small scars with two large ones forming a perfect X over his left cheek. Then there was his eyebrows. Those weren't really strange, it was just that the auburn didn't seem to originate from the same place as the black streak. Astrid looked over him several times before she finally noticed the truly strange part. His eyes were black. Not pure black, he also had the rich green ring that seemed to run through Hiccup's family, but the parts that should've been white weren't.

Romulus noticed Astrid staring at him strangely. "You like them?" He gestured to his unnatural features. "My parents said I was born with normal features." He began, shifting into his story. "My brother and I were born exactly the same, we each had the same hair color, eye color, faces, size. This displeased Pluto. He knew that each of us were destined for a different plane of Hades, and he wanted to make sure he knew which one went where. So, on the eve of my first birthday, he himself ascended into the mortal world. Posing as a common thief, he snuck into my bedroom and cut my across my cheek with a magic knife." He rubbed the X on his cheek. "My parents came into the room before he could get the other one. However, they deed had been done. Over the next three days, the magic traveled up my face, turning each eye black and then ending with my hair." He ran his hand perfectly over the black streak, having memorized where it was.

Astrid stared at the crazed man speaking of strange people and places with a face of confusion and worry. Not only did he look strange, but he was wrong in the head. Romulus smiled at the girl and then walked up to the frozen doors of the Great Hall. He pointed his staff at the large piece of ice and the Black death obeyed. The beast snaked its middle head down from where it was flying and began to suck away the ice. When the door was clear, the Roman armies charged in and pulled out everyone that had still been inside. Including Gobber and Valka. A single soldier ran out holding a piece of white armor. He handed it to his Lord as he passed and then continued on. Romulus held the helmet up to the sun before chucking it down into the ground. Angered, he began to step on it until it was nothing but shattered metal.

The vikings were caroled into a large group. Those that had just come from the Hall looked around frantically, wondering where Hiccup was. Gobber and Valka moved alongside the now unguarded Astrid, who had begun to cry again. "Ladies and gentlemen of Berk!" Romulus addressed the islanders. "Your chief, Hiccup, is dead." A collective gasp came from those that hadn't known. A few, including Valka, began to cry. "I am now your ruler, Emperor Romulus of Rome, and you will obey every command I give you, or you will be punished by death. Now, bow before me!"

Whispers were exchanged between the vikings, but no one moved. Romulus became irritated. "I said, bow!" He yelled as he slammed his staff onto the ground, signaling his dragon to roar. Frightened, the vikings obeyed, save one. The blonde had had enough. She took a deep breath and stood as straight as she could. Romulus looked at her. "Astrid...Astrid, Astrid, Astrid, you know better than this. Now, be a good girl and bow." Astrid stayed standing, looked Romulus straight in the eye and said a single word: "No." Romulus fumed. "Then you leave me no choice. He unsheathed his sword.

* * *

Valka looked up a little to catch a glimpse of Romulus as he approached Astrid, instead she watched as the shards of Remus' helmet began to glow, but it was a faint glow, she was probably seeing things.

Snotlout was at the back of the group, overlooking where Hiccup had fallen. His keen ears began to pick up a whispering bubbling sound. He looked down at the water to see a slight glow being covered by a small amount of bubbles. It was probably just the sun playing tricks on his eyes, he'd have to teach it a lesson later.

Valka continued to watch the helmet shards as they began to glow brighter. She could also hear a high-pitched humming coming from its direction. It continued to get brighter, but Romulus was too focused on Astrid to give it any mind. It eventually hit the point where Valka could no longer look at it and she dropped her head. When she lifted it again, the pieces had disappeared.

The bubbling had increased to the point where the people around Snotlout could hear it. He looked down at the glow, something was definately happening there, something big.

* * *

Romulus stopped in front of Astrid, and sighed. "It is a real shame, Astrid. I didn't want to kill you, but I have to set an example." He pointed his sword at her and then lifted it into the air. Astrid closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate. _I will see you soon, Hiccup._ Romulus prepared his swing downward, taking in a deep breath and focusing on his target. He yelled and swung his sword downward.

The ocean erupted.


	18. Hiccup

Hiccup drifted down through the cold waters of Berk. His eyes stayed closed as small air bubbles floated out from his lips, slowly emptying out his lungs. The Dragonstone remained in his hand, the weight of it causing it to cling to his rough fingers. Toothless drifted close-by. The dragon's eyes also lay closed, drifting off into the deep darkness of an eternal sleep.

The two friends floated in the water, seemingly frozen in time. Hiccup wasn't dead, he could feel the cold of the water nipping on his skin. He could feel the air slowly slipping out of his lungs, but he couldn't move. Or rather, he didn't want to move. He was quite content with just letting the air go. Or was he? He couldn't really tell. But it slipped out anyway. Toothless slowly spun around like a top as he descended through the water, but Hiccup didn't look. He just let the air slip. The Dragonstone remained in his hand.

_Riding wings of black._

Startled, Hiccup quickly opened his eyes. He looked around, but saw nothing but Toothless, whose black scales were beginning to blend with the darkness of the ocean. A deep, black darkness. Hiccup felt the endlessness beckoning him, and he closed his eyes again. The Dragonstone remained in his hand.

_The heir of Julius_

Hiccup opened his eyes again, this time slowly. But again, he saw nothing but the black Night Fury. Confused, but not determined, he returned to his slumber. The Dragonstone remained in his hand.

_shall unite his people_

Deciding not to open his eyes this time, Hiccup's thoughts went to the hundreds of Vikings fighting together on the surface, as one clan. But he advanced towards the endlessness still. The Dragonstone remained in his hand.

___and with the power of the Dragonstone,_

Eyes closed, Hiccup subconsciously rolled the stone around in his hand, feeling its strangely increasing warmth. His fingers tightened around it.

___conquer the greatest of his enemies._

A sickening laugh echoed in Hiccup's ears. He thought of his Astrid. What would happen to her? Would she end up in chains? A slave forced to clean for her master...or worse? He shuddered.

_You're not done yet, Dragon rider._

* * *

The light was so powerful, Hiccup had no choice but to open his eyes to look at what was causing it. He was astounded by the sight in front of him. Hiccup was no longer in the ocean. Instead, his entire vision was back-dropped by a pure black. A glowing figure stood directly before him, its hand resting on his shoulder. It took a while for Hiccup's eyes to adjust to the intense light. When they did, he immediately recognized the man before him. "Uncle Remus?" He asked. The figure smiled and then moved so that Hiccup could see behind it. Several other figures stood there; Boris, Garrett, Eyjolf, and Alvin stood among them. But Hiccup was only focused on one. "Dad?"

"Hello, Hiccup." Tears came to the apparition's eyes. Hiccup didn't know that ghosts could cry, let alone, talk. He ran up to the large man and hugged him, thankfully he was solid.

"I miss you." Tears began to fall quickly down the Haddocks' eyes.

"I miss you too, son." The large man clung tightly to his boy, none of his strength having been lost in death.

"I'm so proud of you. You've truly become the chief I always knew you could be."

Hiccup sniffled. "I learned from the best."

"How...how are you here?" He asked. Remus answered for them all.

"We never left. The dead are never truly gone, Hiccup. We were always with you, in here." He rested his finger on he middle of Hiccup's chest.

An old man emerged from the remaining people, a cane in his hand. "Even if you didn't realize we were there."

"Gran...Grandfather?"

"I've been watching you, Hiccup." The ghost replied. "You and your mother, and I can honestly say, never has our bloodline produced a more perfect being. You truly are the best of two worlds."

Stoick's large hand rested on his son's shoulders. "Indeed."

Hiccup looked around at all the spirits that surrounded him. "Am...am I dead?" He asked, realizing how strange the situation was.

Stoick laughed. "No, not yet. It's one of the beauties of that little stone you have there."

Hiccup had completely forgotten about the Draonstone until then. Looking at it, he realized that the white serpent was glowing.

"So...what happens now?"

Remus placed his hand on Hiccup's other shoulder. "Now, you decide."

"Decide what?"

"Whether the prophecy is to come true or not. Chief Haddock, will you return to the realm of the living, and destroy your greatest foe, or will you remain with us, in the land of the dead, for the rest of eternity?"

Hiccup rolled the stone over in his hand. "Astrid, Mom, Gobber, everyone's still up there."

"Yes"

"And the rest of the world is no match for the Romans."

"Not even close."

"Romulus' dragon has the power of hundreds, and there's nothing powerful enough to destroy it."

"Are you sure?"

Hiccup stopped his hand cold. He raised the Dragonstone to eye-level and stared at it. His eyebrows furrowed, and he slipped the stone into a little pouch in his belt.

Remus smiled. "That's what I thought. But, before you go, you're going to need this." He snapped his fingers, enveloping Hiccup in a white light. The armor fit him perfectly, no adjustment needed.

"But this belongs to the heir of Rome." Hiccup protested.

Julius smiled. "Yes, it does."

"Hold it, there's one thing missing." Remus held out his hands and energy began to collect above them. Pieces of the recently shattered helmet began to re-collect in his palms, fixing the armor. He walked up to Hiccup with the fully repaired helmet. "This." Hiccup took the helmet.

Julius laughed. "Actually, two." The old man let out a loud whistle. Bounding through the ghosts came a black dragon cloaked in white and gold armor.

"No warrior should go out without his trusted companion."

Stoick patted Hiccup's shoulder. "Make us proud." Hiccup nodded and then placed the helmet on his head.

* * *

Romulus stopped in front of Astrid, and sighed. "It is a real shame, Astrid. I didn't want to kill you, but I have to set an example." He pointed his sword at her and then lifted it into the air. Astrid closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate. _I will see you soon, Hiccup._ Romulus prepared his swing downward, taking in a deep breath and focusing on his target. He yelled and swung his sword downward.

The ocean erupted.


End file.
